Grades & Pompoms
by Dream Of Rose Petals
Summary: Formerly: I Trust You. Sophie Green was your average roleplaying Nerd, until she was thrown into a war against Jocks and Cheerleaders by an escaped asylum patient with a vendetta. Beatrice/Bucky Sophie/Melvin
1. So It Begins

I decided to write a OC, mainly because I'm tired of writing cannon characters all the time. As for the pairing, Sophie hasn't even met the person I'm pairing her off with yet. No, it won't be one of the 'favourites' either. So, I hope you enjoy reading it. Reviews are appreciated.

Disclaimer - I don't own Bully. I only own Sophie.

**...**

**Chapter 1  
**_So It Begins..._

As I sat on the steps outside the girls dorm, I realised that it would be difficult to make friends in this school. I'm not sure if it was the woman that 'welcomed' me at the gates swooning over the headmaster or the fact that none of the other students noticed me at all; isn't the news of a new student exciting? The headmaster's speech about keeping my nose clean didn't perk me up either. I think the highlight of my arrival was when I went to collect my uniform and the man took one look at me and said "Nerd." Then gave me a green sweater vest. I never thought for one second that I would automatically fit in, after all I did start during the winter term, but I'd hoped that someone would speak to me.

I tucked my ginger hair behind my ears, then I pushed my glasses up my nose and stood up. It was time for class and I shouldn't be late on my first day. There was a few boys around wearing white shirts they seemed to be bullies of some kind. I didn't realise this by their appearance, what made me realise was that they where surrounding a blonde haired girl with pink glasses on, and were trying to bully her into doing their home work.

"I will not do your homework for you, but I will help you.." she whined.

A ginger haired boy shoved her. "You like to study, Nerd, so you can do it for me!" He practically yelled in her face - well he would if she wasn't covering her face with her hands. His voice was very hoarse; I was tempted to offer him a cough drop, but he might start victimising me instead of the other girl.

I wanted to say something to help her but I was too afraid, so I hurried to class. I didn't want to get in trouble with the prefects. That wouldn't look good if I got in trouble before my day began. First lesson was biology; the teacher was creepy, not in a perverted way, he had a voice that sounded like a villain from a horror movie. Biology wasn't my strong point, it made me sick to my stomach just to look at a cut open animal.

The boy sat next to me didn't seem phased by it, he cut it open before I could pick up the magnifying glass to examine the frog. He was kind of stocky and had a ginger buzzcut, he looked kind of tough. I looked at his frog, I could see it's heart and everything. I felt sick, I could feel the colour draining out of my face. Oh no, I was going to be sick. I ran out of the classroom without asking for permission, I didn't have time. I just about made it to the bathroom, it wasn't until I had puked my breakfast up and emerged from the cubicle that I realised I'd gone into the boy's toilets by mistake. I was happy to know that no one saw me.

...

At least I didn't throw up during my next class, it was music. Not one of my best subjects, but better than biology. After class I walked down stairs to the canteen, I was very hungry and hoped they served something good for dinner. Judging by what I had for breakfast and lunch, I seriously doubted it. The girl I saw this morning was stood holding a brown paper bag - I'm assuming it had a sandwich or something in it. I walked over to her, as I was about to speak to her my voice abandoned me. She turned and smiled at me, she had a kind face.

"Hello, you are the new girl," she said.

"Yes... I'm Sophie.." I mumbled. My cheeks had started to glow pink, I wasn't good at talking to new people. I didn't even have any friends at my old school.

"I'm Beatrice. Nice to meet you," she said.

_'Would all students please go to the auditorium, no exceptions. Yes, Mr Hopkins, I'm talking about you.' _It was the woman that 'welcomed' me, Miss Danvers, talking over the intercom.

"What's going on...?" I asked Beatrice.

"I'm not sure, must be something important. They don't do this often."

I walked to the auditorium with Beatrice, there wasn't a large amount of students compared to my old school. But there was certainly more boys than girls. Beatrice had to go sit with her friends - surprisingly all of them were boys, none of them looked athletic. As I looked around the auditorium, I could tell who was in what group just by looking at them. They were no different from the cliques in my old school.

Near the back was a group wearing leather jackets and grease in their hair, they had that 'rebelious' act. They most be some kind of greaser clique. The kids that didn't look to pleased to be in this auditorium let alone near the greaser kids, they must be the well off rich kids. They were very well dressed, wearing sweater that were pastel blue. There was Beatrice and her friends, they were all wearing green sweaters, they must be the intelligent group or Nerds - as that man called me yesterday. Near them were a bunch of athletic boys and a girl in a cheerleader uniform, they must be the Jocks. Then the boys in the white shirts, they were bullies of some kind, that ginger boy's behaviour towards Beatrice proved this. Then there were the kids that were wearing the normal uniform, not trying to catch anyone from the clique's eye. Sat alone slightly away from the others was that stocky ginger haired boy - by the look on his face he wasn't happy to be there. Next to him was a ginger haired girl with a white shirt, she had a look of total boredom on her face. Next to her was this boy with brown hair, at first I assumed he was a small child, but when I looked again he had a head boy badge on his sweater vest.

But, I did not have a place in this school yet.


	2. I Meet Jimmy Hopkins

_Before anyone asks, no Gary isn't the boy I'm pairing Sophie off with either, it also isn't Jimmy or Petey. She's still yet to meet them. Anyway, Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer - I don't own Bully, I only own Sophie._

...

**Chapter 2  
**_I Meet Jimmy Hopkins and A Old Enemy Returns _

...

Sophie Green

...

Everyone seemed to be talking at once like they were all in their own clique bubble, nothing outside of it seemed to matter. It made me feel homesick just watching them; they may look completely different to the students from my old school, but their behaviour was exactly the same. I wished I could have stayed at home, but this is what my parents wanted. I was lost in my own reminiscent thoughts, when Miss Danvers walked onto the stage. This was the first time I'd looked up at the stage, it had a microphone on a stand with speakers set up near the curtains.

"Quiet or you all will burn in hell!" Miss Danvers shrieked at us. I was so surprised that a teacher would talk like this to students, but no one else seemed bothered by it. They did all stop talking though. "Dr Crabblesnitch would like to talk to you all..." The way she said the headmaster's name was as if he was the most amazing person in the whole world.

The headmaster approached the microphone, Miss Danvers reluctantly walked off the stage. "To teach you all some work ethic, for the next month, instead of classes you will be doing work experience. I do mean all of you." His eyes lingered over the rich kids as he said the last sentence. "You will be given the information on your work placements by the head boy. While on your placement, remember; keep your nose clean!"

As the headmaster walked off stage, everyone started talking again. Most of them seemed angry about the work placements. I personally thought it was a good idea, it would give me a chance to get to know the layout of the town. A added bonus was that I wouldn't have to go to biology. I waited for most of the students to leave before I stood up, as I walked out of the auditorium the boy that looked like a small child walked over to me.

"Are you Sophie Green?" he asked. He looked at a clipboard, he was holding.

"Yes," I mumbled. My cheeks flushed pink again, I hated how embarrassed I got around new people.

"You'll be working at Happy Volts, here's a map to it. You start at 9am," He said. He handed me the map, and ticked my name on the list.

The boy with the ginger buzzcut started laughing. "Unlucky! Well, you might meet a old friend of mine." He snorted after he said 'friend.'

I was going to have a go back but my voice abandoned me, I couldn't say a thing.

"Jimmy! Leave the new kid alone," The ginger haired girl said. I'm guessing she is his girlfriend or best friend. She looked at me.

"Alright. My name's Jimmy Hopkins," he said. So this was the boy Miss Danvers was talking about over the intercom, unless there was another Hopkins at this school.

"Sophie Green." That was all I could force myself to say, my voice seemed out of my control at the minute.

"Zoe," The ginger girl said. Then she walked away - Jimmy Hopkins followed her, I didn't see where they were going because all the other students were all talking about their placements. I wished I had friends to to talk to. At least I have my books to read, they were my only friends.

In the dorm common room, while the other girls where talking about boys, make up and how they hated having to go on placement. I was reading about a beautiful princess locked in a tour, waiting for the handsome Prince Charming to slay the dragon and they live happily ever after together. I wish life could be like my books. I wouldn't be boring shy Sophie Green, instead I would be beautiful Princess Sophianna Emerald. But it was all just fantasy, but I had to come back to reality eventually.

...

Gary Smith

...

The days seemed longer and longer, or maybe I was sleeping less I didn't know. My memories of the world outside the asylum were getting hazier, like everything before this was a very long dream. They may force me to take pills and keep me locked up in this dump like a animal, but they can't control my mind. When the doors were locked and the lights were off, then I was Gary Smith. I was free to think and plan. I will get revenge on that moron, even if it takes the rest of my life.

During the day, I was Patient Smith, or what other insults those imbecilic orderlies called me. I knew their game, they'd love to put me on more pills. No, I refuse to play their game. I sat alone in the dining hall, I liked it that way. I don't need people, they only want to break me. The food was the same old crap, at least it was better than the food at Bullworth Academy. I often thought of Bullworth and everyone in it, I refused to let those memories go hazy to.

I stared at the plastic tray in front of me, I'd already finished eating but I wasn't going to move. You see there is a unwritten rule among patients; the first one to stand up has to make a scene. When that happens, every orderly in the building rushes in here, and drags them off to their cell. Sounds stupid? Na, since there is only two orderlies that patrol the building. While they are off 'restraining a difficult patient' we can do pretty much whatever we like as long as we stay in this room.

Today was different, one of the orderlies walked into the room. His bloodshot eyes scanned the room, just looking for one of us to step out of line. He coughed and the room went silent, none of us respected him or anything. None of us were stupid enough to antagonise him.

"Starting Monday, there will be a student from Bullworth working here. If one of you harms them in anyway, you will lose all privileges," he said. Then he left the room.

Sounds like a harmless threat, right? Wrong. Privledges may start with small things like not having to eat meals in our cells or being allowed out in the gardens. It also includes not getting beaten up. Orderlies act like they prefer nonviolent ways of getting patients to do things, but that is the biggest lie of all. They get a kick out of hitting us.

So, a Bullworth kid is coming? That's all I need, some kid laughing at me and scurrying back to that dump of a school and gossiping about me to their brainless friends.

Knowing my luck, it'll be Hopkins.


	3. We Meet In Rosewood

_I just love this chapter, the last half is so sweet. It was just a random idea for her to meet someone this way, someone that would share the similar interests. Well, enjoy!_

_Disclaimer - I don't own Bully. I do own Sophie though._

_..._

**Chapter 3  
**_We Meet In Rosewood_

Saturday morning I woke up feeling groggy, it took a few minutes before I could get out of bed. I didn't open the curtains, because my room mate Lola was still asleep, I didn't want to wake her up. She didn't get back until 1 am, I know this because she woke me up. I grabbed my glasses off my bedside cabinet and picked up my toiletries bag. The room was still a little dark, so I picked up the flashlight I used for midnight reading, and tiptoed over to the wardrobe. As I carefully opened the door, I turned the flashlight on. My heart sank when Lola stopped snoring, I thought I'd woken her up, but she turned over and her snoring continued. I grabbed some clean clothes and my towel, then hurried out of the room before I really did wake her up.

There wasn't anyone in the bathroom, or so I thought. I smiled and got undressed, I nearly had a heart attack when I heard the toilet flush. I grabbed my towel to cover myself up; I knew that it would be a girl, but I don't like showing my body off. The door open and a blonde girl emerged from the cubicle.

"Hello," she said cheerfully.

I smiled and mumbled, "Hello."

She saw the flash light I had left on top of my clothes. "Often bring a flash light to the bathroom?" Beatrice asked. She wasn't trying to make fun of me, I could tell.

"No, I..ur.. my room mate was asleep and I didn't want to wake her," I said, trying not to sound like a total loser.

"Oh, that makes sense." Beatrice got undressed - I didn't look at her, and wrapped her towel around herself. "So, do you know your placement?"

"Yeah, Happy Volts," I said calmly. I didn't know much about it, only what I'd seen on the map the head boy gave me. I took my glasses off and placed them next to the flashlight.

"The asylum?" she asked. I assumed so, there couldn't be that many Happy Volts around here. "I'll be at the medical clinic in Blue Skies, I think that will be very interesting. I do want to go to medical school after I leave here, so this will be good experience. Do you have any interests in working in a asylum?"

I stepped into the shower, closed the curtain before taking my towel off, and slipping it out of the cubicle. "I don't know, I'm not really sure what I want to do."

...

The morning was slightly more eventful, I accidentally found a beautiful meadow behind the library. I wasn't looking for it, I found it while exploring the school. It was so peaceful and tranquil. I sat down under the tree and read my book. It was different to the others I usually read, my Dad had brought it from a comic store in Bullworth Town, before I started school here. It was about a princess that is exiled after the prince was kidnapped. It was such a lovely story, sad at parts, but she gained the confidence I wished I had.

I don't know why, but I stood up and started to say the lines. I could imagine myself as Princess Sophianna Emerald, my dress was long and a beautiful emerald green, my ginger hair flowing down my back.

"Brave knight, thy heart is pure and thy intentions honorable, wouldst thou give me thy name?" I said, just trying to picture the brave knight.

Then someone spoke back to me; "Sir Melvino Dragon's Bane." I turned around and saw a brown haired boy, he wore glasses and a pencil tucked behind his ear, he had the same green sweater to what I was given, he was slightly over weight. I blinked a few times, to make sure I didn't imagine him. "Fair princess, what is thy name?"

I would have died of embarrasment, but I got caught up in the moment. Right now, I wasn't me. I saw him as a brave knight, tall muscly and clad in silver armor. "Princess Sophianna Emerald of Rosewood." I don't know where the kingdom name Rosewood came from, but it sounded good.

He smiled at me, and chuckled. "I thought I was the only one in this school that actually cared about roleplay," he said.

My face flushed pink, now I was extremely embarrassed. "Well, no... to be honest... I was reading my book... a-and I got into it," I tried to explain, but I was too embarrassed to talk normally. I looked at his face, he was one of the boys Beatrice sat with in the auditorium yesterday.

He smiled at me. "You're good at it. Sophie Green, right? Beatrice told me about you. I'm Melvin O'Connor."

"Nice to meet you," I said. I was still extremely embarrassed that I'd said my princess name.

"Rosewood? Where did you get the idea for that?" he asked.

"I made it up just now," I confessed.

"I like it. We should meet in Rosewood again," he said. He smiled again.

"I'd like that," I said. I smiled back.

He walked further across the field, in the opposite direction to the way I came from. I didn't want to follow him, in case it made me look like a weird stalker. I walked back to the school, all I could think about was now I had someone to share my fantasy world with. Well, if he wasn't joking that is. I was never any good at being able to tell if people are sincere or not. I do hope he was sincere, it would be nice to make a friend here, I'm not exactly swamped with people wanting to be my friend.

Just one friend would be nice.


	4. Jerks and Jocks

_I'm probably going to get flamed by Kirby fans for writing him as a jerk, but well Kirby is a jerk like the rest of the jocks. _

_Disclaimer - I don't own Bully. I do own Sophie._

_..._

**Chapter 4  
**_Jerks And Jocks_

Lunch was disgusting, it was brown slop that the cafeteria woman said was stew. I don't want to say what it looked like, the sooner I can forget about it the better. I never got around to seeing what was behind the school this morning. The fountain was a statue of a athletic guy with a bull's head, posed like it was about to throw a football, with a low wall around it, the actual water was probably rain water before it froze over. I stood there looking at the statue, wondering what it was symbolising. I clutched my book to my chest, smiling as I thought. Then someone shoved me.

"Move Nerd!" they shouted, they had a really strong Russian accent.

I smacked my head on the small wall, and my glasses fell off. I don't know what happened to my book, but a shorter looking guy with brown hair was now holding it, he wasn't as muscly as the Russian guy.

"Look, Juri, the nerd is reading about princes and castles," he said, his voice sounded kind of strained and harsh. He laughed and handed my book to the boy that pushed me, Juri.

There was some of the rich kids around, they didn't do anything but laugh at my humiliation.

"Maybe we should throw it up a tree!" he said.

"No... don't!" I pleaded. I didn't want anything to happen to it, it was a gift from my father.

"Aww.. is the nerd going to cry?" I looked at this third boy, he was muscly, he had blue eyes and brown hair. He was kind of handsome - not the kind of guy I'd go for.

"It looks like it, Ted," the shorter boy said.

I put my glasses back on. "Just give it back..." I pleaded. They just laughed at me.

"Unhand that girl's book at once."

I turned to see who it was; Melvin. Beatrice was with him, and a really skinny black boy. If I wasn't so afraid of getting hurt, I would have smiled.

"Or what?" Ted said. He shoved Melvin unbalancing him a little. "What are you going to do about it?"

"Leave him alone!" the skinny boy said. He had a high pitched voice.

"Or what, nerd?" Juri said. He lifted the skinny boy up by his throat.

A black boy wearing a blazer ran towards us. "What is going on over here?" he shouted. He looked like a prefect, I didn't remember seeing him in the auditorium.

Juri dropped the skinny boy and my book. The jocks ran off towards the gym, the prefect chasing after them. I secretly hoped he caught them and punished them. I managed to stand up, I hadn't hurt myself much, I had a cut on my knee and would probably have a bruise on my forehead. The skinny boy picked up my book and gave it back to me.

"Thank you," I mumbled. My cheeks flushed pink.

"Are you ok?" Beatrice asked. She looked concerned.

"Yes," I replied. I looked at my book; it wasn't damaged, a little damp from landing in the snow.

"Oh, this is Cornelius," she said, gesturing at the skinny boy. "And Melvin."

"We've met already," Melvin said. He smiled at me, I returned the smile.

"Where?" Cornelius asked. He seemed amazed for some reason. "You didn't say anything."

"Oh, nowhere special," Melvin replied nonchalantly.

I wanted to say, "We met in Rosewood." But I chose not to, that was our secret place. I just nodded in agreement with them.

The three of them walked towards the library, Cornelius was interrogating Melvin the whole way - it looked like Melvin wasn't telling him anything. I decided not to go near the gym if those jock guys where there. I saw a building, it was nearly as big as the girls dorm, but it looked fancier. As I walked towards it, I saw more rich boys. They all looked at me like I was a parasite tainting the air around them. I turned around, heading back to the girls dorm. It was much safer there.

There wasn't anyone one in the common room, which suited me fine. For once I was happy to be alone. I sat down on the sofa, I carried on reading my book. I was just getting to the part where the prince slays the dragon that guards the tower that the princess is locked in, when Beatrice walked in. She sat down on one of the nearby armchairs, she dropped her backpack on the floor near her feet.

"Everyone is asking Melvin when he met you, you know," she said. She looked over her glasses at me, before she pushed them further up her nose.

"It was this morning," I replied. I placed my bookmark into the book, to mark my page, then placed it on the sofa next to me.

"Oh, I know, that's all Melvin will tell us." She looked at her clothes, brushing off some snowflakes. "Are you two going out?"

"No!" I said, completely horrified. I wanted the ground to swallow me up. I didn't even like him that way, we'd only spoken for a few minutes. "Why do people call me a nerd?" I said, changing the subject.

"Because you wear glasses and wear a green sweater like we do. Everyone is like that, they automatically assume without even getting to know a person."

It made sense now, why the guy, who gave me my uniform, assumed I was one of them.

Did it matter? No, it didn't.


	5. Who Is She?

_Thank you to everyone that has reviewed. :D A little bit more of Gary in this chapter, I love writing him. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer - I don't own Bully. I do own Sophie, the patient Charlie and Olaris. _

**Chapter 5  
**_Who Is She?_

_..._

_Gary Smith_

_..._

I hadn't slept at all since they told us, all I could think of is Bullworth Academy, wondering who they would send. I drifted through everything like I was a ghost or something. The face and name of each student and their weaknesses flashing through my mind, how I could use each one of them to get out of this dump. When they packed us into the dining hall like sheep, I was ready. Whoever it is, I will have them eating out of the palm of my hand.

I sat at the table, I couldn't eat, I was too excited to see who my new puppet was. I had to try and hide it or the dumb apes would dope me up on pills. Then Theo, the big guy with the bloodshot eyes, walking to the room. Following him was a girl, short ginger hair and glasses, she was wearing the white scrubs that all the imbecilic orderlies wear. I just stared at her, I didn't recognise her. Her badge read 'Sophie.' That one name obliterated all my plans.

At every oppurtunity I watched her. When she patrolled the dining hall to make sure no one did anything they shouldn't, my eyes followed her around the room. During the time we were allowed in the gardens, I watched her. She just sat there reading a book.

At night all I could think about was her, it was driving me insane. She invaded my thoughts, she'd invaded the asylum. The dumb orderlies loved her, she barely said a word and didn't ask for help, so they could get on with barely doing their jobs. During the week I shadowed her, watching everything she did, listening to her every word. At the weekend I plotted, but all the plans were worthless, I didn't know if any of them would work on her.

It wasn't until two weeks after she started working here that I got a glimmer of hope. She'd got the orderlies to get us to do some kind of exercise program during our outdoor time. Some moronic.. moron was bouncing a dodgeball near me.

"C'mon, Smith, stop stalking your new girlfriend and play," he said.

I ignored him. Sophie was sat reading another book, I hated that. I hated everything about her, most of all I hated how little I knew about her. The idiot threw the ball at me, it collided with my leg. I turned and stared him out, I picked it up and threw it in some random direction. I didn't realise I'd thrown it in Sophie's direction, until I turned and saw her stood up - the dodgeball in her hands, her book at her feet. I couldn't believe it, she must have had only a seconds notice before it collided with her. She threw it back towards us and resumed reading her book. I looked around for someone weak, that I could bully. Score! The new guy, Charlie had a ball. I walked over to him and shoved him, snatching the ball from him.

"Dude! What you doing? I was winning!" He yelled at me. Oh, boohoo. The guy was a wimp and didn't follow our unspoken rules.

I returned to the place I was stood before, I stared at the top of her head. I thought of how much I hated her, to make sure I had enough hate in me, I imagined Hopkins was stood behind her. I threw the ball as hard as I could, and.. she caught it! If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it. But now I knew how I could use her, she would be my puppet to get revenge on those morons at Bullworth.

All I had to do was get her alone and get her on my side, the rest would fall into place. That would be easy, because if a patient causes enough trouble, then the apes make them have one to one therapy with a orderly. The orderly is always the newest one, to toughen them up.

...

Sophie Green

...

I think my placement was going well, but I was too afraid to say anything. I did manage to suggest the patients being allowed to play ball games during outdoor time, Theo and Gregory didn't seem to care. 'As long as I don't have to watch them, the loons can jump under a truck for all I care.' That was their exact words. There was this one boy, he looked my age, he had a scar above his right eye. The look in his eyes scared me more than anything. He seemed to follow me around the asylum, everywhere I looked he was there staring at me. I didn't say anything about it to anyone, I couldn't even tell Melvin about it. Yesterday the boy threw a dodge ball at me twice, it was just like when I was little and my brothers used to throw stuff at me all the time. I had to learn to catch things with a split second notice or I would get a toy dinosaur or robot in my face.

I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have Melvin to hang out with, it was a nice break from the asylum. During the week I was stalked by the creepy boy, but I spent my weekends being Princess Sophianna Emerald in Rosewood with Sir Melvino Dragon's Bane. It may have looked like we where running around a field using sticks as weapons, but to us it was a beautiful white stone castle or a dark forest or whatever we wanted it to be. Today we were travelling through a swamp to defeat the orc barbarians of Olaris. Well, I guess you have to see it through our eyes.

"Princess, the swamp is to hazardous. I would not risk thy life, for such a dangerous quest," Sir Melvino said. He held out his sword and pointed across the swamp.

"But good Sir, I am grateful for thy concern but I can not sit around awaiting thy return," I replied. I had my own sword.

I had more than a break from work, I had a friend.


	6. Bullied Again

_Thank you to everyone reading. I hope you enjoy this chapter._

_Disclaimer - I don't own Bully. I do own Sophie. The ticket booth lady is my bestfriend's OC._

_..._

**Chapter 6  
**_Bullied Again_

As we walked back towards the library, I remained quiet, normally we talked about the adventure. But today, I knew what would happen; we'd stop outside the library and he'd go and talk to his friends about normal stuff. Naturally that happened.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked. A smile spread across his face.

"Of course," I replied, as always.

"Farewell until tomorrow," he said. Then he walked away to talk about normal stuff with all of his friends.

"Bye.." I muttered. I looked at my feet and sighed.

As I walked back to the dorms, all I saw was everyone hanging out with their friends. Who did I have? No one. At the crossroads I saw that cheerleader girl, she was talking to another girl. The other girl had ginger hair. I tried to avoid them by heading towards the gates, but the cheerleader stood in front of me.

"Where are you going, New Girl?" she asked. As a prefect walked past, she smiled and acted like we had planned to meet here.

"Nowhere..." I whined. I tried to dodge around her, but it was pointless, she grabbed my arm.

"Oh my god, how rude? We try and be all nice and you storm off," She said loudly. She turned to the ginger haired girl. "I think that's like totally rude, don't you, Christy?"

"Yeah, Mandy it is. Just because you want to rush off to be with your boyfriend, doesn't mean you can be a bitch to us," Christy said to me.

My face flushed pink, I couldn't believe she said he was my boyfriend. Melvin wasn't, he was just a friend I hung around with. "He's not my boyfriend!" I yelled at them.

"Oh, my god! She's blushing! I thought it was just a rumour. Sir Dork-a-lot and the new girl!" Mandy said loud enough for everyone to hear.

I shoved her and ran towards the gates, tears pouring down my eyes, the laughs and jeers of nearby students following me. I didn't stop running until I found myself outside a carnival, I didn't even know there was one. I checked my pocket to see if I had any money on me; I had one dollar. I hoped it was enough for a ticket, I wouldn't be getting any money until monday, when I get my weekly allowance from my parents in the mail.

I approached the ticket booth, the lady was blonde, she was heavily tanned, her face covered in make up. She was blowing bubbles with her bubble gum.

"A buck for kids," she said. She ripped a ticket off a roll and passed to me, when I gave her my money.

I put the ticket in my pocket as I walked through the gates, all the rides looked so much fun. I'd never been to a carnival, my dad was too busy working and my mum was too afraid to take my brothers to anywhere like this. After the 'event' at the family reunion, they realised that it wasn't a good idea to take my brothers anywhere. All the rides looked so much fun, but I knew I couldn't go on them if I wanted to. As I walked towards a tent, it must be some kind of prize tent or something, I saw those jock boys. My heart sank, I prayed that they wouldn't see me.

"Isn't that that nerd chick?" one of them said, I remembered that his name was Ted. He was pointing at me.

"Yeah, I think it is," said the smaller boy who's name I never learned.

I felt like I was rooted to the spot, I was too afraid to move. The one with the Russian accent, Juri, shoved me.

"What you looking at, Nerd?" He yelled at me.

I tried to stop myself from crying, it would only make them pick on me more. Easier said than done, my eyes were filling up with tears fast.

"Dude, leave her," Ted said. He grabbed my wrist.

"Yeah, Dude, leave her," a black boy said. I don't know his name.

"Why don't you come party with us?" Ted said. I didn't like the look in his eye, it was the same way he looked at that cheerleader Mandy, like she was just some object to fool around with.

"No thank you," I mumbled at him. I didn't want to be anywhere near any of them. I tried to pull my arm away from him, but his grip tightened. "Please don't hurt me..." I pleaded, tears pouring down my cheeks.

His grip on my wrist loosened and I ran for it. I had no idea where I was going, I just had to get away from them. I ran into another tent, I stopped to get my breath back. Then someone spoke to me and nearly gave me a heart attack.

"Hey Kid, you ok?"

I spun around and looked at the person, she was a severely over weight woman with a beard. I looked at her face, she seemed kind of sad and lonely. That was something I could relate to, I've been at Bullworth for two weeks and I still don't feel like I have a place. She was sat on a sofa in a small room, a glass wall seperated her from me.

"I'm fine thank you," I mumbled politely. My tear stained cheeks said otherwise.

"You don't look it," she replied. She lifted some potato chips out of the bag and ate them.

I sat down on the floor and told her everything, it was so easy talking to her because I knew she understood. She even told me about herself, how isolated she felt to and how she wished she could have someone to talk to.

"If they don't want to get to know you, that's their problem Kid," she said. She wiped her mouth on a napkin, she had some crumbs in her beard, but I didn't want to point it out. She had been kind to me, she didn't have to talk to me but she did.

"It still hurts when they insult me," I confessed. It was true, whenever someone insulted me, I just wanted to lock myself in my room and cry myself to sleep.

"Whenever those shallow people insult you, just remember you are pretty and better off with out them," she replied.

I blushed, no one had ever called me pretty before. "I am?" I asked.

"Yeah, 'course you are. I wish I looked like you as a kid."

"Thank you, Ma'am," I said, my cheeks still pink. I didn't care if she was being nice, and only saying that to make me feel better.

"My name is Paris," she said, with a smile.

"I'm Sophie," I replied, smiling back.

"You can always come talk to me, whenever you need to," she said.

"I will do, Paris," I promised.

I would visit her again, it was nice talking to her. As I left the carnival, I felt better, not more confident, but a little happier.

Maybe things could get better.


	7. Taking The First Step

_Not much to say about this chapter, other than enjoy!_

_Disclaimer - I don't own Bully. I do own Sophie._

_..._

**Chapter 7  
**_Taking The First Step_

I barely slept a wink last night, and that wasn't because Lola invited her boyfriend Johnny back to the dorm last night. It was because I was thinking about what Paris said. She was right, if people didn't want to make a effort to get to know me, then I should forget about them. So, I'm going to tell the people in my life what I think, that is if my shyness will allow it. Starting with Beatrice and Melvin, I wanted to tell them I want to hang around with them more. A small conversation whenever we meet anywhere with Beatrice or roleplaying in the meadow with Melvin wasn't enough.

I left the dorm earlier than usual, so I could see them both when they were hanging out outside the library. Along the way people were whispering and pointing at me, they were probably talking about whatever rumor Christy had made up yesterday. Well, if Paris could put up with it all the time, I could to. I forced myself to smile and carried on walking, if they had nothing better do than talk about me, then fine, let them gossip. I walked up the steps to the library, and smiled when I saw Melvin and Beatrice hanging with all their friends.

Melvin saw me walking towards them, he immediately checked one of the watches one boy was wearing. I mean this literally, because the boy was wearing not one but three watches.

"You're not late, I just came a little earlier," I confessed. My voice was starting to give, so I thought I'd just say what I had to say before I looked like a total loser. "I thought we could all hang out together for a change."

"That's a great idea, I was just telling Melvin, that he shouldn't keep you to himself," Beatrice said. She smiled at me. "This is Bucky.." She gestured to the boy with three watches.

"Nice to meet you, pally." He had a really nasally voice.

"Cornelius, you've all ready met," Beatrice said, continuing with the introductions.

Cornelius smiled at me, he was holding a maths text book. I remembered him, he was with Melvin and Beatrice, when the jock boys started on me the first time.

"Algie, Donald, Earnest, Fatty and Thad," she said, gesturing at each boy as she said their name.

All of them smiled at me, I smiled back. It was all I could do, my voice had totally abandoned me.

"This is Sophie," Melvin introduced. I'm glad he did, because I could only remain silent for so long, before they thought I was a total freak.

"Nice to meet you all.." I said at last.

It was nice hanging around with them, we didn't really go anywhere. It was just hanging around outside the library, trying not to get beaten up by bullies and jocks. Not really something I want to go through again.

...

After I got changed into my medical scrubs, I walked to the staff lounge, to find out what my duties are for today. I hope it's something easy and doesn't involve much work, Lola kept me awake again last night and I'm really tired. Gregory was watching the TV, Theo hadn't arrived yet. I sat down on the sofa and watched the TV. I didn't speak, Gregory hated it when people talked during his favourite shows. Every time I saw him, I wondered why his badge said 'JW.'

Theo walked into the room holding a clipboard and case file - it was a pretty thick file as well. Whoever it was, they must have a seriously huge amount of problems and/or mental issues.

"Green, you'll be working with a patient today. We had trouble with him all weekend, and a beating didn't solve it," he said. He handed me the clipboard and the case file.

I read the name on the file; 'Patient Smith, Gary.' I didn't ask any questions, sometimes I found that the less I know in this place the better. Patient Smith's cell was in C Block, the broken down wing. I unlocked the cell door, as I walked into the room I was surprised to see that it was the boy that followed me around. He was sat on his bed staring at the floor, he didn't have that same timid look most of the other patients had. I shut the door behind me and locked it.

"Patient Smith?" I asked. It was obvious who he was, but I had to ask, it was good manners. That and sometimes the wrong patients get locked in the wrong cells.

"Gary," he replied. He turned and looked at me, as his brown eyes made eye contact with my green ones, I felt like he was staring into my soul. I wouldn't have believed it possible before now, it was like he was analysing everything about me.

"I'm Sophie, I've.." I started to say, but he interrupted me.

"Don't tell me, those dumb apes think I'm unstable, they've sent you so I can spill my guts with all my problems. You can write them all down, add them to my huge case file. They will then put me on even more medication to crush whatever independent thought I have left."

My jaw dropped, he was spot on. I'd never known anyone to be this observant, even outside the asylum. I closed my mouth and shook my head, I couldn't show that I was rapidly starting to fear him. I sat down on the bed, placed the case file on the floor next to my feet and removed a pen from my pocket.

"I'm here, if there is anything you want to tell me," I said. Then my voice abandoned me.

For a while he remained silent, staring at the wall. I didn't say anything, I didn't want to force him to talk, and my own shyness wouldn't let me anyway. I looked at him, he had bruises on his face and arms, for one moment I wondered what horrible beating Theo had given him. Theo was terrible for the beatings, he had no mercy for anyone.

"Bullworth, huh? I used to go there," he said at last, breaking the silence.

"Did you enjoy your time there?" I asked, forcing myself to say something.

"No, it was a dump. The teachers had no idea about anything, too wrapped up in their own problems to care about anyone else. The kids..." he took a long pause, then looked at me again. "Well, you know."

"Yeah." I thought of how I was treated by most people at the school, either ignored or bullied. "How did you leave?"

He laughed at my question. "Seriously? No one mentioned it?"

I shook my head, I'd never even heard his name before I came here.

I had a suspicion, the reason he left was how he ended up in here.


	8. Just Too Easy

_This chapter is one of my favourites, scheming Gary is awesome. :D Thank you to everyone that's reviewed and everyone reading this. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer - I don't own Bully. I do own Sophie._

_..._

**Chapter 8  
**_Just Too Easy_

...

_Gary Smith_

_..._

I felt one of two emotions; one, pissed off that no one talked about me - what I did was legendary. Two, happy. She didn't know, I could tell her anything and she would believe me. She didn't look the type to have any friends at all, she reminded me of Petey but more manlier. There was so many things I could tell her, but they wouldn't do me any good. I needed to get out of this dump. I stood up and looked out the window, to make myself look more pathetic, I held one of the bars. From this cell I could see through the fence, I could see the outside world. It was like it was calling to me.

Then I knew the perfect story. I told her that Jimmy had a plan to take over the school, how he used me for my brains - that he was seriously lacking, and Petey because no one noticed him - he could easily find out all the rumours. That Jimmy ditched me because he was convinced I was out to get him.

"Petey was fooled by his act, he wouldn't listen to me. Jimmy bullied him mercilessly, but he was too afraid to say anything about it." I could tell she believed me, I didn't even have to look at her to know. I did have to resist the temptation to laugh; the idea that Hopkins was capable of a plan like that was the biggest joke ever. I went on to tell her about how he targeted each clique one after the other - probably one of the few truthful parts in this story. "Then he finally got expelled, he blamed me for it. He was convinced it was my fault. His next target was the townie kids, he convinced them to try and take over the school, to regain his control. I was head boy, I did everything I could to stop the fighting, but none of the cliques would listen. They fought each other, blaming each other for everything."

"What happened?" she asked, her voice was filled with concern. I had my back to her, so I couldn't see her face.

"Jimmy came back to the school with the townies and Russell, they beat up all the clique leaders again. He only did it to show them what he was the boss, and they shouldn't forget it. Then he came for me, he chased me to the top of the bell tower. I confronted him." Even now, if I close my eyes and really think, I can still remember it.

_The sound of chaos from the school, the sirens from the cop cars ringing through the school. The look of hatred in that moron's eyes._

_"Gary!"_

_"Moron!"_

_"Why did you do it, Gary?"_

_"Why not? I won, I tricked everyone, starting with you, the head, the loser kids in town and the prefects. Me! I won."_

_"You are sad, man."_

_"I might be sad, but I run your world moron... and don't you forget it. You did all my dirty work for me, Hopkins. You're like a puppet, only dumber!"_

_"Whatever, let's finish this."_

"He won and the Crabblesnitch believed his lies." I remained silent for a few seconds, to make it seem like I was upset or some crap.

...

_Sophie Green _

_..._

I was shocked by what I had heard, I felt sorry for him. He was locked up in here, while this Jimmy was free and causing trouble at school. It all made sense, why Gary didn't have the same feebleness the other patients did, it was because he wasn't insane and was dumped here. Why Jimmy made that comment when I found out about my placement. Just seeing Gary stand there, looking out the window like that was heartbreaking.

"How long have you been here?" I asked. It was wrong that they would lock someone up, just for standing up to someone like Jimmy Hopkins.

"I don't know. What month is it?" He said, his voice slightly emotional.

"December," I replied. My voice abandoned me.

"Six months."

Six months! If I spent that time trapped in a asylum, I would have gone insane. I was completely gobsmacked. When I returned to the staff lounge, Greggory looked surprised to see me. For the rest of the day I couldn't concentrate on anything. The conversation with Gary played through my mind, like it was stuck on replay.

I was glad when got back to the dorm, I collapsed on my bed. I had lost my appetite. I remembered my promise to Gary, the one I made before I returned to the staff lounge.

_"He won and Crabblesnitch believed his lies." He was quiet for a while, it must have been so hard for him. _

_I didn't say anything, I mean what could I say? He had lost everything just because he lost a fight. It was so unlike me, normally I would be to afraid to do something like this, when he sat down on the bed, I dropped the clipboard and hugged him. I rested his head on my chest. _

_"I'll get you a day release," I said. He deserved it, just one day to be normal. I knew I couldn't get him permanent release, but one day was better than none, right?_

_"Why? Those apes won't listen to you," he replied. His cheek resting on my bussom. _

_"Then I'll keep asking until they do listen," I promised. Then my voice abandoned me like it always did. _

I didn't ask today, first thing tomorrow, when Theo asks me about how the one to one therapy went, I will ask. I fell asleep thinking about it.

Gary, I promise you, I will get you day release.


	9. See You Around, Moron

_I was so surprised to see so many reviews, thank you so much. This chapter, I must have rewritten it three times at least. I'm happy with the final result though. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer - I don't own Bully. I do own Sophie and Patient Charlie._

**Chapter 9  
**_See You Around, Moron._

_..._

_Sophie Green_

_..._

I sat on the sofa, not saying a word, Greggory was watching TV again. All I could think about was my promise. Today was the day I would ask Theo. Every sound made my heart beat faster, in case it was him. After ten minutes of waiting, it felt like a eternity to me, Theo walked into the room. His knuckles were bruised, I felt sorry for the patient he had beaten.

"Oi, Greg. Patient Wilson just lost his privileges," Theo yelled at Greggory.

"Alright, I'll make a note of it after this," Greggory replied. He returned to watching his program.

"Green, you'll be sorting out the patient meds with me."

I stood up and followed him to the medical wing, I tried to talk a few times but my voice wouldn't let me. I sat on a stool, checking the medical records, while Theo prepared the meds. A few times I could have sworn I saw him put some in his pocket. I wasn't completely sure.

"How did the theorpy go with Patient Smith?" he asked. I had been dreading this question.

I closed my eyes, I needed some confidence. Princess Sophianna is confident, this was a mission. A brave warrior was captured by a ogre and I had to save him. In my imagination, Theo was the evil ogre, beating warriors.

"I think he needs some time away from the asylum, maybe all the aggression is because he needs a little freedom," I suggested. I'd rehearsed that all night, playing it over in my mind.

"Not going to happen," Theo said flatly. He examined a bottle of pills.

"Why not? Everyone else has had day release but him," I replied. I couldn't believe he would dismiss it like that without even considering it.

"Patient Smith is one of our most unstable patients, his file is twice the size of the rest and a good beating doesn't seem to crush that attitude of his." He put more pills in his pocket, this time I saw him do it.

"So, you don't want to fill the paper work in?" I enquired. In the time I've worked here, not once had I seen Theo fill in paperwork.

"Pretty much," He replied.

"I'll fill it in and escort him." I knew he couldn't refuse that, because it would involve the least amount of effort from him.

...

_Gary Smith_

_..._

I paced my cell, I'd seen her pass the door with that dumb ape Theo. I wondered if she'd asked him yet, had he refused her? She was weak, would she give up at the first refusal? I would probably end up going insane just waiting. Each minute felt longer and longer, the sound of the door unlocking was like a hallelujah chorus to me. I looked up and the week form of Sophie was stood in the door way, she was holding clothes. Had she done it that fast? I under estimated her.

She smiled, placing the clothes and shoes on my bed. "You've got half hour to get ready, I'll wait outside."

I didn't need all that time, as soon as she left the cell, I ripped off the clothes those morons forced me to wear. I've never gotten dressed so fast in my life. With in 20 minutes I was fully dressed and in the front office. Sophie was still in her medical scrubs, she was filling in some paperwork when I arrived. That dumb ape was there, his blood shot eyes staring at me. He grabbed my wrist, I could see bruises on his knuckles. So, he'd given Charlie that beating he promised then.

"You'll be hand cuffed to each other," Theo said. He stared at me, I stared right back at him.

"Since when do you handcuff patients?" I enquired, not breaking eye contact.

"Since it's you, Smith," he replied. He dug his nails into my arm. Then tightly slapped the handcuff around my wrist.

"Careful, Moron," I yelled at him.

"Shut it Smith, or I'll.."

I looked at the bruises on his knuckles and raised my eyebrow. "What? Beat me, like Charlie?" I retorted. I wasn't scared of him, and he knew it.

He gave me the look. That one look that said 'your next.' He'd been looking at Charlie like that for the past week, and this morning he found a reason to beat him. I laughed at him, he hates that more than anything. He held onto the other cuff, as soon as Sophie was finished with the paperwork, he pulled me towards her.

"Be back by six, no later," he said. There was a 'no negotiation' look in his blood shot eyes.

She fastened the cuff around her wrist, Theo handed her some keys, probably the usual - keys to the gate, key to the hand cuff, and key to my cell to lock me back up afterwards.

I didn't even look back at the place, it was hardly home sweet home. That first step of freedom was the hardest, most people assume it's nothing special, but they couldn't be more wrong. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, slowly taking that step into the outside world. As I opened them again, everything seemed different. It wasn't sun shining brightly, birds tweeting and all that crap. It was more open and free. I felt free. Free to do whatever I want.

"Where do you want to go first?" She asked me. Even she looked slightly different out here, I can't explain how, she just did.

"Anywhere far from here."

She took me into Blue Skies, we had to catch a bus. People did stop and look at us from time to time, but I didn't care, I just stared right back at them. My plan was in motion, all I needed was to get away from her, and I'd never go back to that hell hole again. I had to be nice to her and keep up the act, until I figured something out.

On the bus I sat by the window, watching people go about their lives. All of them had forgotten about me, after everything. I could feel something digging into my hand, I looked down and saw the keys. Score! Maybe she wasn't as smart as I thought, she'd clipped the keys onto her belt, on the same side as the handcuffs. I looked up and down the bus, no one was taking any notice. She was paying more attention to where we were. With my free hand, I lifted the key to the handcuffs. For one horrible second I thought she noticed, but she was just pushing her glasses further up her nose.

I turned the key in the lock, the cuff loosened around my wrist, I really was free. I let go of the key. I couldn't get away here, I'd have to wait until the right moment. She'd know right away if I tried, and I'd probably end up doped up on pills. I pulled my sleeve over it, so she wouldn't see. When we had to get off the bus I followed her, my heart beating faster. Everything was coming together so perfectly, better than I could have imagined.

We walked around Old Bullworth Town, she hardly said anything. There was a crowd near the movie theatre, I saw my opportunity to get away. I pulled my wrist out the cuff and watched her disappear into the crowd.

Later, Loser.


	10. All My Fault

_Thad's in this chapter, I got to say it; I got nothing against people with lisps, just writing someone with a lisp is so difficult! This chapter is the aftermath of the last one, and a tiny bit of realisation that Gary lied. I hope you enjoy this chapter._

_Disclaimer - I don't own Bully. I do own Sophie._

_..._

**Chapter 10  
**_All My Fault_

It was really busy in Old Bullworth Town, I was too busy trying to remember the way we came, I didn't speak to Gary. He didn't say anything, he was probably a little overwhelmed by all the people around. There must be a new movie out, I wondered if Gary would like to see it, he probably didn't get to watch TV in the Asylum.

"Hey, Ga..." As I turned around, and saw he wasn't there, my heart sank. I raised my arm, and saw the cuff that should have been around his wrist was unlocked. I held the unlocked cuff in my hand, trying to figure out how it was possible. I reached for the keys, to unlock the cuff around my wrist, then I realised. It must have been on the bus, but he definitely got off the bus.

I ran around the shopping plaza frantically trying to find him, just maybe the lock was faulty and he was trying to find me or something. I had to find him, Theo would be furious when he found out. All of this was my idea and Gary escaped. During my search, I wanted to ask people if they had seen him, but my voice box didn't seem to want to work.

Then I heard someone calling me, I think they were calling me, they had a lisp. "Thophie! Thophie!"

I looked up the steps and saw one of Melvin and Beatrice's friends, he had ginger hair and he was skinny and kinda tall. I think he was the one who carried a yardstick around. I think his name was Thad or Tad or something like that.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. He already knew I was on placement at Happy Volts, it was one of the many things we talked about yesterday.

"I was escorting a patient..." I walked up the steps, so I didn't have to shout. I was so panicky, my shyness didn't effect me. I just wanted to find Gary. "You haven't seen him around have you? He's got brown hair, A scar over his right eye. A real intense look in his eyes."

His face when extremely pale, like he'd seen a ghost or something. "No... I-I haven't..."

"Are you sure?" I wondered why he was acting like this, Gary didn't seem the type that people would fear this much. When I'd seen him around the asylum he didn't speak to anyone.

"I'm Pothitive, I have to go.." He turned away, but I grabbed his arm.

"Thad," I said, guessing his name - I hoped I'd got it right. "If you've seen him, I need to know."

"It thounds like you're talking about Gary Thmith." He looked really nervous, like he was expecting something bad to happen. He didn't correct me, so I must have guessed right.

"Yes, that's him." I realised, of course Thad would know him, Gary was a student last year. I let go of his arm.

"I won't tell anyone... after what he did, this is bad.." His whole body was trembling with fear.

...

When Thad had to go back to work, I carried on looking. It didn't make sense, what Gary had told me and the look of fear on Thad's face. All I could think about was what he said. I started to get tired and hungry - I'd skipped lunch. I checked my watch, it was 2pm. Maybe he'd gone back to the asylum, and I was searching for nothing. The whole bus journey, I prayed that he was waiting for me at the asylum, I really didn't want to have to explain this to Theo or Gregory. He wasn't outside the gates. I didn't want to give up, I stood there counting every minute on my watch. My heart sank when I heard Theo's voice. I turned around and looked at him.

"Where's Smith?" he asked. His blood shot eyes full of anger.

My voice abandoned me, I couldn't speak. It worked earlier, when I pretended to be Princess Sophianna. This was outside a cave, Theo was a evil king trying to kidnap the prince, I had to defend the prince from his evil army.

"He... I..." I swallowed spit a few times, I was to afraid to speak. "He... escaped."

"How did he escape?" he yelled at me.

I told him everything that had happened, and when I realised he was gone. I explained that I did try to find him.

"I knew this was a mistake."

That was his final word on it. I knew he wasn't just talking about allowing me to take Gary out of the asylum, but about allowing me to have a placement in the first place. He was silent along the way to the office, he didn't speak until he phoned Dr Crabblesnitch. I wasn't allowed to leave the office. He talked on the phone for half hour, I knew because I stared at my watch the whole time. I was handed the phone.

"Hello.." I said feebly. I wanted to cry, even imagining something didn't work, it just made me more upset.

"I want you to tell me exactly what happened, I mean everything. Every encounter with Mr Smith, and what you remember of the conversations." He didn't sound angry, this surprised me, I thought he would shout at me. He was probably waiting until I got back to school.

I told him everything; how Gary followed me for two weeks, what we talked about yesterday, exactly what happened today. I didn't mention Thad, I didn't want to get him involved. He didn't say anything the whole time, even when I finished talking he remained quiet. Then he asked me to pass the phone back to Theo, I did what I was told.

I was so scared, I felt like I was going to be sick.


	11. A Little Christmas Spirit

_I'm happy with how this chapter ended up, Sophie is started to be a little more confident, and it's the beginning of something else - but you're going to have to wait and see what it is! :D  
I hope you enjoy this chapter. _

_Disclaimer - I don't own Bully. I do own Sophie._

_..._

**Chapter 11  
**_A Little Christmas Spirit_

I got fired, they felt I couldn't be trusted with patients. To my surprise Dr Crabblesnitch didn't punish me, he seemed sympathetic about it. I don't know what was worse; knowing that it was my fault or the fact that I didn't get punished. The police had searched for Gary, but none of them found him. It was like he just disappeared. I wondered if he was out there thinking about what he had done, and if he did was he happy or in shock? Had he planned it all along? There were so many questions I'll probably never get a answer to, because the person with all the answers couldn't be found.

I spent my days hiding out in my dorm, only leaving for meals. No one else got fired, so there wasn't anyone around. I felt a little better when I woke up Saturday morning, because I would see my friends. I did my usual routine of using my flash light, as I collected my towel and toiletries bag. As usual Lola didn't wake up, I have this theory that she could sleep through anything. If a bomb went off outside, she'd still be fast asleep. I grabbed some clothes and walked to the bathroom, there was someone in here already. Then someone else spoke and I realised it was the cheerleader Mandy and her friend Christy. I tried not to eavesdrop, and got undressed. As I showered, I couldn't help but hear them, there was one of them in the shower either side of me.

"Did you hear? The new girl got fired," Christy said. I wondered how she knew this, the only people who knew was me, Thad, Dr Crabblesnitch and the orderlies at Happy Volts.

Mandy laughed at this new bit of gossip. "What a loser! Like, the work I have to do is totally groady, but I wouldn't get myself fired because of it. Did you find out why?"

"No, no one knows why. I asked a few people, but they seemed surprised to hear it."

I was so angry that they were talking about me like that, it was none of their business what happened. As soon as I got dressed, I headed straight to the library, I needed to talk to Beatrice and Melvin. They weren't outside when I arrived, probably because it was snowing, so I checked inside. They were sat at a table with the rest of their friends, there was a viking hat upside down on the table. I didn't want to intrude, so I turned around.

"Sophie! Just in time, come sit down!" It was the over weight boy that has 'accidents', Algie.

I smiled at them and sat down at the table like they asked.

"We are doing a secret Santa thing for Christmas, now you are here we can begin," Beatrice explained.

I was so surprised that they would include me, I started blushing. The boy who's name is Earnest stood up - the times I've hung round with them, I kinda got the impression that he was the leader of the clique. Melvin smiled at me, I smiled back at him. Cornelius waved at me, he had a small stack of books in front of him - probably maths books. Thad smiled at me, he was holding a yardstick - we both kept the secret to why I got fired at Happy Volts, I doubt he would tell anyone. I smiled at them both.

"Amigos, I think our newest member should pick first," Earnest said. He held the hat out in front of me.

I blushed again, it took me a few minutes to find my voice. "What do you mean newest member?" I asked.

"You are one of us, if you like it or not," the boy with the nasally voice, Bucky, said firmly.

"Besides, anyone that makes Melvin happy is cool with us," Beatrice said, smiling at Melvin. She had a kind of 'knowing something I didn't' look in her eye. There was probably lots of things she knew that I didn't, they were all much smarter than me.

I wasn't the only one blushing, Melvin was too after what Beatrice said. I couldn't understand why, we were just friends. I took a piece of paper from the hat, and everyone else did in turn. I unfolded the piece of paper, it said 'Melvin.' I wanted to sigh with relief, but I didn't. It shouldn't be too difficult to buy him a present, I knew him better than I knew the others and I had roleplayed with him in the meadow nearly every weekend since I got here.

Beatrice and I walked into Bullworth Town together, she had suggested we both go shopping together. We where going to meet the boys after to play Grottos and Gremlins in the observatory. She seemed happy to have a girl to hang around with, it must be hard for her with only male friends. I was happy to, because I finally had some friends.

"Who did you choose?" she asked. We stopped outside a shop and she looked in the window.

"Melvin," I said honestly. There wasn't much point trying to hide it, she would know when we all exchange presents anyway.

"You are so lucky, I got Earnest. He is very difficult to buy for, he is polite about it, but I can tell he is disappointed with almost everything he gets." She finished looking and we carried on walking. "The only presents he likes is when he gets one of those inappropriate, nude women, magazines."

"Ew. I think I know what to get Melvin, he told me about Grottos and Gremlins cards, he said he needed the Shiny Dark Knight card." I wasn't so shy around Beatrice, because she was the only girl that was nice to me ever since we first met.

"Think they have one on sale in The Dragon's Wing. Sometimes they sell cards separate, only the rarer ones."

She showed me where the shop was, it was the same one my dad took me to, before he dropped me off at Bullworth Academy. The comic store owner was very welcoming and he did have the card, it cost me $30, all of the money I had left, but it was worth it. To me, it wasn't about presents.

I'd already gotten what I want for Christmas; friends.


	12. A Gift From No One

_There's so many things I could say about this chapter, but that would ruin the whole plot. So, instead I'll just say enjoy! :D_

_Disclaimer - I don't own Bully. I do own Sophie._

_..._

**Chapter 12  
**_A Gift From No One_

I enjoyed playing Grottos and Gremlins, it was almost as fun as when me and Melvin roleplayed in the meadow, but this time everyone could join in. The weekend seemed to fly by too quickly, it was like someone pressed a fast forward button or something. Monday everyone else had to go back to work, the good thing was, they had Christmas day off. I only had to wait until then. I was tempted to go shopping for a present for Beatrice anyway, but it would spoil the fun of doing a secret Santa.

I sat in the common room on the sofa, reading a book. Everything seemed boring after what happened at the weekend, but I didn't let that dampen my happy mood. I would get to talk to Beatrice when she finished her work placement for the day, so it wasn't really that long to wait. Each day was the same routine.

Christmas day, was the happiest one I've had in years, this year I had friends to share it with. I was so looking forward to meeting up with the others. I walked to the observatory holding my gift, I held it like it was the most precious thing in the world, to me it was. I'd never given a friend a Christmas present before. Fatty was stood above the gates, when I arrived, it looked like he was checking the cannon - Algie once told me it was a spud cannon.

"Merry Christmas!" he shouted, when he saw me. He walked down the stone steps, so he could open the gate to let me in.

"Merry Christmas," I replied. He closed the gates behind me.

"Everyone is inside," He told me.

We walked through the doors, the place looked a thousand times better, they had put up some old decorations up. Even the crates had Christmas pictures taped to them, it was like a abandoned Christmas grotto. I sat down on a crate near the others, and we exchanged gifts. Melvin was very happy with my gift, he immediately added it to his collection album, and thanked me at least twice. It was Cornelius that had got me a present; two movie tickets. At first I thought he wanted me to go with him to see a movie. But, I realised what was going on when everyone suddenly had to leave, leaving me and Melvin alone.

He looked at me. "You do realise what they are doing, don't you?"

"Yeah, now I do." I blushed, it was so embarrassing that they were matchmaking.

"I told them not to, but they won't listen." He was a little embarrassed as well.

"We could go, as friends," I said. My voice abandoned me again, I never asked a boy on a date before, even if it was a friend date. It took a few seconds before I could speak. "It could be like a mission, Sophianna and Melvino leave Rosewood for a while, to stop the meddling matchmakers."

"I accept the quest." We where quiet for a minute. He looked towards the door. "Sophie invited me, you can come back now," he shouted.

Everyone walked back in, like they'd stepped out for a breath of fresh air or something, they were as subtle as a orc army attack in broad daylight.

"I'm completely surprised by that," Donald said. He nudged Algie.

"Yes, me to. I didn't think you two would go together," Algie said. He didn't look surprised at all.

We stayed in the observitory all morning talking about Grottos and Gremlins and eating gingerbread and chicken salad sandwiches. It was better than the Christmases I had at home, normally my brothers would open their presents, then throw their toys at me, what ever was undamaged, they would play with all afternoon.

In the afternoon, I had to go to the school main office to pick up the present my parents sent me. I was surprised to find two packages instead of one; one of them was from my parents, the other didn't have a return address on it. Miss Danvers was as nice as ever, she gave me the packages then muttered something about spoilt children. I took the packages and walked back to the dorms, Beatrice and I were going to have a sleepover party in her room with Eunice and we needed to prepare. She was waiting outside talking to Melvin. As soon as she saw me she waved.

"Hi! I'll meet you in my room in one hour, ok?" She didn't give me a chance to reply, she walked straight through the doors.

"I was going to give you this earlier, it did not seem the right time. Especially with the others waiting outside listening." He reached into his jacket pocket and retrieved a present. "I know I wasn't supposed to get you anything, but I had made this before we did secret Santa, and Cornelius wouldn't trade with me, now I know why.."

He held out the present, but my arms were full. He took the two I was holding, and I took his gift. It was wrapped with shiny emerald green coloured paper, with a green ribbon. I opened it, inside was a small figurine with long ginger hair, and emerald green long dress, a delicate silver tiara on her head and a silver sword in her hand. There was a sheet of paper with it, a picture that looked a little like me but with long ginger hair with the tiara braided into my hair. There was 'Princess Sophianna of Rosewood' written above it and battle stats below it.

"You made me, my own character sheets?" I said, I was blushing. I wanted to cry with joy.

"We all have our own characters, you should to." He smiled at me.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Princess."

He handed me the two packages, and walked back to the boy's dorms. As I walked up to my dorm to get changed, I couldn't stop smiling. I placed the packages on my bed and opened them, the one from my parents first. They sent me a new pastel pink sweater, I won't be wearing it. I opened the other one, inside was a brand new red dodgeball, there was a note with it.

_You have a talent, pursue it._

It wasn't signed, I checked the packaging twice and didn't find anything. I had no idea what they where trying to tell me, I'd never played dodgeball at Bullworth. I put the dodgeball and the sweater at the bottom of the wardrobe.

It was the best Christmas morning ever.


	13. Operation Friend Date

_It would be nice to know what you all think of the story so far. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer - I don't own Bully. I do own Sophie._

_..._

**Chapter 13  
**_Operation Friend Date_

I was so nervous Saturday morning, not because the jocks were planning to spray paint the observatory again and we would have to stop them using the spud cannon, but because this afternoon Melvin and I were going to see a film together. It wouldn't normally bother me, but everyone else acting like we were engaged or something. The boys fought the jocks, and were doing a good job of it to. Earnest was using the spud cannon, Melvin and Bucky firing bottle rockets from either side of him, Fatty and Algie throwing stink bombs. Donald, Cornelius and Thad were on the roof, ready to shoot with either spud guns or bottle rockets, if the jocks made it through the gates. They had explained it all to me, before they did this plan, it did sound like a good idea until Beatrice and I were told to stay inside the observatory. I hated that, I could have done something to help.

"Are you looking forward to your date?" Beatrice asked. She was reading a biology textbook, I tried really hard not to look at her, I really didn't want to see the pictures.

"It's not a date, it's just two friends going to see a movie together," I replied. I raised the book I was reading, in a attempt to hide the fact that I was blushing.

"Melvin really likes you, you know. It was his idea for you to stay in here, he didn't want you to get hurt," she said. She wrote something down in her notebook, probably some extra notes for when we started class again. She was really into biology and chemistry.

"He does? I never noticed," I said honestly. I hadn't noticed anything, I thought he was just behaving how friends should.

"Yes. He told us all about you, before we had met you. He seems happier when you are around." She put the textbook down and looked at me. "Do you like him back?"

I felt like I was going to have a heart attack or something, I didn't expect her to ask that. "I-I... don't know... I haven't really thought about it..." It was so hard to get my words out, my voice just didn't want to co-operate.

"You should, you two would make a good couple, you have a lot in common." She picked up her chemistry book and started taking notes.

I had to change the subject fast, but I couldn't think of anything. Then I remembered Bucky looking at her a lot. "How long have you and Bucky been going out?" I asked. I didn't really think they were a couple, but I had to change the subject.

"We are not a couple." She didn't say anything else about it, I wondered if she did like him.

...

I waited outside the movie theatre, I was a little nervous. After what Beatrice told me, I had been thinking about if I did like Melvin that way. Me and Beatrice had spent over a hour trying to find something nice for me to wear; we settled for a blue dress, blue jacket, white knee high socks and a pair of black shoes. I had a blue ribbon in my hair like a Aliceband. There was some other kids from Bullworth meeting up to see this movie to; Lola and her boyfriend Johnny, Jimmy Hopkins and the ginger haired girl Zoe, to my horror Ted and Mandy. I saw Melvin, and all my nervousness seemed to fade away. He looked different, but somehow the same as usual. He didn't have a pencil tucked behind his ear, he was wearing slacks but darker than the school ones, a white shirt and a sweater vest over it - well from what I could see were his jacket wasn't completely zipped up.

"Hi," I said immediately. I blushed when Mandy made a comment about us.

"Oh my god! The new girl and Sir Dork-a-lot are dating!" She laughed at this, Ted seemed to find it funny as well.

We ignored them both. Melvin held out his arm. "Fair Maiden," he said, smiling at me.

"Good Sir," I replied, hooking my arm around his.

At the snack counter, we brought a tub of popcorn to share and a soda each. The movie was slightly interesting, and that is just being kind. It was a chick flick, were a guy and a girl meet and have loads in common, then get together at the end. Probably the others trying to not very subtly matchmake. After the movie, Melvin and I took a walk along the pier.

"Did you enjoy the movie?" he asked. My arm was hooked around his.

"Not really, I would have preferred a fantasy film more," I said honestly. We sat down on a bench and watched the sun start to set.

"Me to. You think everyone is trying to tell us something?" He wasn't looking at me, when he said that.

"Maybe.." That was all I could say, I knew they were trying to set us up, Beatrice had as good as told me they where.

I don't know how it happened, when he turned around, we kissed. Everything in that moment was perfect, the sunset, the calm sound of the lake. Even the sound of people passing by was like a serenading melody. The thing that made me happy was how time seemed to stand still, I savoured each moment of it. I could imagine us both in Rosewood, stood at the top of the tallest tower in our majestic white castle, sharing our first kiss. But it wasn't Princess Sophianna and Sir Melvino that I saw in my mind, it was us, exactly how we were.

Just this once, reality was better than fantasy.


	14. Mutual Understanding

_I felt it was too early in the story for proper romance to happen, so most of this chapter is about their friendship. Thank you if you reviewed, thank you to everyone reading this. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer - I don't own Bully. I do own Sophie._

_..._

**Chapter 14  
**_Mutual Understanding_

After our kiss, neither Melvin or I said anything. I felt awkward around him, I didn't know how I felt about him and the kiss certainly sent a mixed message. We talked for a while, not about anything in particular, just about Rosewood. Along the walk home, I worried about what I would say when the conversation got to what had happened on the pier. It didn't happen, thankfully. Outside the girls dorms, we said goodbye, and that was it. Our friend date ended.

I didn't sleep a wink all night, all I could think about was the kiss. I lay awake in bed, it playing through my mind like it was on replay. For a moment, I wondered if Melvin was thinking about it to. If he was, did he think we were going out?

It was snowing again, and I was the first one to arrive at the library. There was a fire in the fireplace, the room was just starting to warm up. I sat down at one of the tables, placing my hands on it's polished surface. I wondered what I would say to Melvin, I hoped he wouldn't hate me when I told him how I felt. The idea of us going out was nice, but I think I was just going along with it. I was happier when we roleplayed in Rosewood and played Grottos and Gremlins in the observatory with the others. I didn't know if I was ready to go out with a boy yet.

Even though my skin was as warm as the room around me, my heart felt as cold as ice. Was it really possible to be just friends after this? I hoped he wouldn't hate me. I heard the door closing, I looked up and saw Melvin, my heart sank with guilt. He smiled when he saw me, he clearly thought I cared for him that way. He sat down opposite me, I looked into his eyes. I wanted to say so much, but the words wouldn't come.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"No actually, I didn't.." I started to say, then I realised maybe I didn't have to say anything about it. Everything was as if it hadn't happened, he didn't mention it, so why should I?

"Me either, classes start again tomorrow, and with all the homework there will be less time for roleplaying," he replied. He smiled at me, I noticed he didn't look at me any different.

I savoured the moment, and how the atmosphere around us wasn't awkward.

I heard the door closing and someone say, "Fatty has arrived."

Fatty walked over to the table, he sat down and didn't say anything. I don't know why, but I started laughing, Melvin did to.

"What Do I smell that bad?" Fatty asked. He smelled his sweater, completely clueless to what we were laughing at.

Today we were going to plan a way to get back at the jocks for their attack on the observatory, we split up looking at different sections in the library. Me and Melvin looked upstairs, it gave us time to talk. Everything was normal, until he mentioned what happened on the pier.

"I've been thinking about last night, does this change things between us?" he asked. He picked up a book about the Trojans, and flicked through the pages.

I felt like my heart sank, nearly dropping the book I was looking through. "I don't know.. I don't want things to change."

He exhaled, it looked like he was happy with what I had said. "I'm glad to hear that. I do like you Sophie, but I'm happy the way things are now. Before last night, I mean."

"I feel exactly the same way, I like you, I don't know if I like you that way. I don't want to spoil our friendship by rushing into a relationship, if it doesn't work, we end up feeling awkward around each other." It felt good getting that off my chest, it was a weight off my mind to.

It was nice, that moment of complete understanding between us, but it didn't mean nothing would happen in the future. I looked through some more books, to find something.

"I think we should give the Trojan plan another chance, but with someone who has the intelligence to execute the plan properly," Earnest said, as he emerged from behind a book case. I wondered how long he was listening to our conversation.

"I don't think that would be a good idea, the jocks would be expecting it. Even if we did try it, we can't use the mascot costume again," Melvin replied.

I had no idea what they were talking about, I didn't ask, this war with the jocks was going on long before I came to this school. We had been looking through books for two hours, and nothing seemed like a good idea.

I sat at the table, my head resting on it's polished surface, I seriously needed to get out of here. "Don't they have practise on Sunday afternoons?"

"Yes, but that doesn't help us, if we don't have a plan," Bucky replied. I could see the seconds ticking away on all three of his watches.

"Why don't we watch them, see if we can get some inspiration or something..." I suggested. I tried to stop myself from yawning, I felt like my eyes were glazing over.

"That could work, they wouldn't attack us in front of Mr Burton either," said Beatrice. She sat down, after putting back a huge pile of books.

"I still say we should fill all their lockers with stink bombs," Fatty said, annoyed that no one liked his idea.

"Fatty, I said no! That is something those underbrained numbskulls would do. We are better than that." He stood up, looking like he was thinking about something. "It wouldn't hurt to watch them."

Everyone stood up excitedly, I was happy to get out of the library.


	15. Surprise Appearance

_I hope you enjoy this chapter to. _

_Disclaimer - I don't own Bully. I do own Sophie._

_..._

**Chapter 15  
**_A Surprise Appearance_

The snow got heavier, and we ended up in the observatory instead. It took a hour to move all the crates out of the way because Thad, Algie and Bucky wanted to practise for the dodgeball tournament. I didn't even know there was one, but then again I didn't know a lot about this school. Everyone decided to help them, we stood in a circle and threw the ball to each other. The others talked, I just caught the ball and passed it on, not saying a word.

I have no idea why, but I thought of Gary. I wondered where he was right now; had they caught him? If they had, what had Theo done to him? If Theo had beaten a patient into a coma just for looking at him wrong, what would he do to a patient that escaped? I barely knew Gary, I'd only known him a short time, but I was worried about him.

My trail of thought was broken by someone talking to me, it took me a few seconds to realise that Melvin was talking to me.

"Sophie... hast thou got a distraction jinx cast upon thyself?" He waved his hand in front of my face.

I blinked a few times before I registered what he said. "No! I was just thinking about something." I looked around and realised we were alone. "Where is everyone?"

"It has stopped snowing, they are going to the football field. I told them we would meet them there." He looked at me cautiously. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. I'll meet you there," I replied. I needed a minute to clear my head, there was so many thoughts swimming around.

Melvin left me alone, for once I was happy about that. The biggest disappoint was that it didn't help, I just stared at a crate and wondered what was in it, why it was placed there. Why did they have so many crates around? When they never really opened them and used what was inside, or did they?

"Huh, I was right after all."

I thought I was alone in the old observatory, and hearing someone speak surprised me. There was that moment, when the fear completely washed over me. Out of fear I couldn't move. I could hear their footsteps as they walked around me and stood in front of me. I couldn't believe it, in front of me was Gary, like he had jumped right out of my thoughts and appeared in front of me. He looked different from how I remembered him but the same, at the same time. He looked cleaner, his hair wasn't as messy, he was wearing different clothes.

"From the first second I laid eyes on you, I thought you would be the shy, meek type, that hung around with nerds. Seeing you wipe the floor with those weak morons without even trying, was hilarious." He looked at me, as soon as his eyes made contact with mine, it was like the moment I saw him in that cell. Him analysing me, targeting every fear and weakness.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. I could feel my courage plummeting, he is a scary person to be around. When I think he will do something, he does the complete opposite. Like when I thought I could give him a day out of the asylum, he escaped and hasn't been seen by anyone until now. I started trembling with fear.

"I got bored." He turned his back to me, I felt a little less scared now that his weren't staring into me. "Planning little pranks against the jocks? How childish and small time." The way he said it was like he already knew.

"Yeah... how do you..." I started to ask. I could feel my voice giving in.

"Nothing escapes my notice." He saw the dodgeball we were using earlier, he walked over to it and picked it up. "Hanging with nerds won't do you any good, neither will dating one of them."

I wanted to ask him how he knew about that, but I didn't think I would get a answer. "What will?" I asked, it was all my voice would let me say.

"You know who Ted Thompson is, right?" he asked. He looked at the dodgeball.

Ted Thompson? I couldn't put a face to the name, but I had heard it a lot. Algie talked about him sometimes, how this Ted called him 'his little buddy', every time Algie does his homework for him. The cheerleader Mandy was all over him, and talked about him all the time. Then the penny dropped, I knew who he was. I remembered when I was waiting for Melvin outside the movie theatre, Mandy had her arm hooked around that jock boy's arm, the one that bullied me at the fountain with the boy with the Russian accent, Juri, and the other boy. I felt stupid for not realsing before, I did know his name was Ted, I just didn't know his last name.

"Yes," I said simply.

He threw the ball at me, I caught it right away. "Take out the captain, take out the team."

"What?" I really didn't understand what he was talking about, or what this dodgeball had to do with anything.

"Grow a back bone and show those losers that they can't push you around." He pointed at the door. "Go on, go!"

"Yeah! They do push me around too much." I looked at him for a few seconds, I could see a smirk starting to form on his lips.

I walked out of the observatory, completely forgetting about all the questions I had to ask him. All I could think of was how I was going to wipe that smirk off the jocks' faces. I actually felt confident for once, I didn't have that nagging fear in my mind at all. As I stomped down the path to the football pitch, I could hear their voices in my mind; taunting and laughing at me.

I saw them running around the pitch, going about whatever tactic thing the coach had told them. Melvin, Beatrice and the others were sat on the bleachers, they called to me a few times but their voices seemed muffled for some reason. The cheerleaders were practising a routine of some sort. Time seemed to slow down as I walked closer to the pitch, I held the dodgeball in my hands. I took a deep breath, the adrenaline coursed through my body, I looked right at that Ted Thompson. I raised the ball into the air with my hand, and threw it at him as hard as I could. As the ball left my hand, it took all my courage with it. Everything flashed past my eyes, like it was on fast forward. The ball collided with his head, and caught him off guard, knocking him off his own feet.

My jaw fell open, even I couldn't believe what I had done. All of the other jocks stared at me, they all had a look of shock and complete disbelief on their faces - the cheerleaders had the same look. I felt someone place their hand on my shoulder, they steered me away from the pitch.

What had I done?


	16. I Find Out The Truth

_:D I'm happy with everything in this chapter, it has emotion, realisation, and a little Sophie/Melvin moment. Because the next chapter will make this the longest story I have written, I'll write something extra special for you. A little feed back on the story so far would be nice. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer - I don't own Bully. I do own Sophie._

_..._

**Chapter 16  
**_I Find Out The Truth_

Manipulated, seemed to sum up yesterday. I played it through my mind some many times during the night, that I knew every detail of every second. Insanity, was a close second. I don't even know if my meeting with Gary was real, no one else had seen him, or anyone else near the observatory. I told the others why I did it, and who I had seen. All of them, accept for Earnest, had the same look of fear as Thad did, when I met him after Gary had escaped.

I sat in chemestry class, the teacher was kinda funny. At first he explained what to do, then he started freaking out and calling us all 'Demons of Hell.' Beatrice was my lab partner, she understood why I was unresponsive and lost in my own thoughts. My conversation with Earnest was all I could think about.

_I remained in the observatory, when most of the others had left. Only Earnest stayed, he looked at me, a sympathetic look in his eyes._

_"Have I gone mad?" I asked, that would be the only way to explain it. _

_"No. Gary Smith has a talent for targeting people's weaknesses, and using them against that person," he replied. He looked me in the eyes, I got this strange feeling, that he completely understood why I did it. _

_Before I could stop them, the words left my mouth. "What did he make you do?" I asked. _

_"I had a lust for power, to rule over the jocks once and for all, watch them cower like snivelling wretches." It all made sense to me, why this ongoing war with the jocks was so important to him, it was revenge as well as the desire to lead more people. "Gary used that lust for power against me. He told me if I follow him and break off all ties with Jimmy, we could rule together. If I could go back, and refuse, I would. His plan was to help Jimmy become king of the school, then convince him to paint graffiti on city hall. That would get Jimmy in enough trouble, to be expelled, but it didn't work out that way. Once Jimmy was gone, the school broke out in a full scale clique war. Every one who wasn't in our own clique was the enemy. I was too blinded by power to see the truth; Gary didn't care about anyone but himself. I was just a pawn."_

_"That's why he was sent to Happy Volts, because Jimmy beat him, and convinced everyone he was mad," I said. That was the version Gary had told me. _

_"No. Gary was sent, because he had extensive mental problems. He also tied Dr Crabblesnitch up. It was rumoured that he was on behaviour medication, and that he had stopped taking them. It wasn't surprising at all, when he was taken to Happy Volts."_

At the end of the class, I walked to the cafeteria, everyone looked at me. All of them whispering, and making more rumours. I ignored them, and got my lunch. The food looked disgusting, like it had already been eaten and pucked back up. I stood there, holding my tray, feeling like each pair of eyes was drilling into me.

"Sophie! Over here!" The high pitched voice of Cornelius called to me, through the whispering of hateful rumours. He was stood up, waving at me.

I walked over to the table, and sat down. Melvin, Bucky and Fatty was playing the Grottos and Gremlins trading card game - Melvin just played the card I got him for Christmas. Algie and Thad was discussing something, it seemed important to them. Bucky, Donald and Earnest was looking at a map of the school, pointing out various places on campus - including the field me and Melvin called Rosewood. Beatrice was quiet, she smiled at me and tried to engage me in conversation, but my mind kept wandering.

I couldn't stand all the other students watching me, I threw away the rest of my lunch and ran out of the cafeteria. I didn't stop running, until I made it up the stairs, and was standing in front of my locker - it was right next to Algie's. I placed my hands on the metal door, I wanted to smash my head against it, anything to make it all stop. Finally getting noticed didn't feel as good as I thought it would, this was a lot worse. I felt someone's hand on my shoulder, the same person who lead me way from the football pitch yesterday, Melvin.

"It is ok, they will move on. There will be another rumour and yesterday will be forgotten," he said, trying to reassure me.

I turned around, and hugged him, burying my face into his shoulder and sobbed. I could feel his arms tighten a little around me, in a reassuring way. Neither of us said anything, we didn't have to, just that moment was enough. Our moment ended with the bell ringing, and the sounds of the rest of the students leaving the cafeteria. He let go of me, and smiled.

"Feel better?" he asked, handing me a tissue.

I blew my nose, and forced a smile. "A little bit," I lied. I felt guilty for lying to him, but it couldn't be helped.

He walked to English with me, he talked about RPGs the whole way. I was grateful for that, because it was something he would normally do. During English, it was a free writing class. Mr Galloway was one of the nicest teachers I had seen so far, he let us talk in class and help each other. For my classwork, I wrote about how easy it was to be manipulated, and how nothing good comes from doing everything someone tells you to do.

Right now, I just wanted to know; why me?


	17. The Jock's Revenge Takes An Odd Turn

_Chapter 17 is here! ^_^ So, this is my longest story so far, and well, I'm happy about that. Here's the chapter I promised, even though it doesn't name them, because Sophie doesn't know their names, it has some of the hardly ever mentioned Jocks in it. I hope you enjoy this one to. ^_^_

_Disclaimer - I don't own Bully. I do own Sophie._

_..._

**Chapter 17**  
_The Jock's Revenge Takes A Odd Turn_

I always wondered why people where unhappy, when they were popular. It wasn't until now, I understood why. I wasn't popular, far from it, for me it was worse. I was the target of gossip and rumours. Instead of isolation, as the days passed, I was followed by hurtful comments about everything I did. There was a rumour going around that me and Melvin broke up, because someone had seen him comforting me by my locker. That was one of the more funnier ones, because we were never a couple in the first place. Being around them, was giving people things to gossip about. But I couldn't stop hanging around with my friends, because they were there for me when no one else was.

I walked from the maths class with Cornelius, we were talking about the latest part of our plan. We were going to enter the dodgeball tournament and beat the jocks at their own game. There was a open spot on the team, because Jimmy Hopkins didn't want to be on the nerd's team anymore. Thad had asked me to take his place, because they had seen how good I was, when we were all practising together. Right away, I accepted, it seemed like the right thing to do.

"Are you sure this is going to work? There isn't any girls on the other teams," I said, it was the nerves talking. Our first game was on Saturday, two days away.

"Of course, you are better than most of our opponents," Cornelius reassured. I had a feeling that he was just saying that, to make me feel better.

"You think so?" I asked.

Cornelius didn't get a chance to respond, because two girls grabbed me by my arms. The ginger girl, Christy, holding on to my left arm, I looked at the other girl; she had black hair and wore glasses, she was holding on to my right arm.

"Target captured!" Christy said.

The two of them literally dragged me by my arms, leaving a bewildered Cornelius standing there. I was to shocked to shout or struggle, I didn't even know where they were taking me, until I saw the frozen fountain. The two girls dragged me into the gym, and let go of me in the center of the basket ball court. The Jocks formed a circle around me, each one holding a dodgeball. This was it, they were going to get their revenge. Some of them I recognised; the Russian boy - Juri, the small boy - Kirby, and the black boy that repeated everything Ted said. Ted wasn't there, then I heard his voice, as he entered the circle.

"There is no way some nerd could have made that shot," he commented. He wasn't holding a ball, he didn't even look angry. "Let's see how you like being hit, for no reason. Juri, now."

Juri threw the ball at me, aiming for my head, it was just like my eldest brother Michael. He always aimed for my head to. I caught it, it was just inches from my nose.

"It is fluke!" Juri yelled, angrily.

"Dan, now!" Ted instructed, he pointed at a boy behind me.

The surprise attack, Brian's specialty, he was a year younger than Michael. He loved to throw things at me, when he thought I wasn't expecting it. I dropped the ball, and spun around on the spot, catching it before it made contact with my stomach.

"Should we go to plan B?" A black boy, wearing a cap, asked.

"No," Ted said, looking at me. "Give me a ball." He held out his hand, a tall boy with blonde hair placed a red dodgeball on his hand. "Take her to the other side of the court."

Two of the boys grabbed my arms, and dragged me across the court, leaving me under the basket ball hoop. I was started to get annoyed with being dragged all over the place, but I was too afraid to say anything. I pushed my glasses back up my nose, wondering what they were going to do to me. Ted stood on the opposite side of the court to me, he looked at me - he smirked arrogantly. He threw the ball at me, with as much strength as he could muster - sending the ball flying at me like a red comet. I could hear the sound of the ball ripping through the air, heading towards my chest. I raised my hands and caught it.

I looked down at the red ball in my hands, I had the same feeling as I did on the football pitch. The adrenaline coursing through me, my heart beating faster. I threw it back at him, like before, but this time he was prepared. Except this time, I aimed for his chest, seemed fair. He caught it right away, made sense, he was the captain of the football team. For a second I thought he would throw it back at me, but he didn't.

"Not bad, for a girl," he said. He turned his head, and looked at the cheerleaders.

I wondered what he was thinking, and why he wanted to throw a dodgeball at me personally. It's not like he had to, he could have just let the other boys pummel me with dodgeballs. He walked towards them, engaging the four girls in conversation. I had no idea what was going on, everything seemed surreal. I saw all of my friends, and fellow nerds walking towards me.

"That was amazing, you really showed them up!" Donald said. He was holding a piece of paper with some names on it.

"They won't try that again," Thad said. He placed his hand on my shoulder.

"What are you all doing here?" I asked.

"Cornelius told us what happened, so we immediately came to fight them if we had to," Earnest explained.

"I'm glad that you are ok, even though some of us was more worried than others," Beatrice said, looking at Melvin.

"I'm ok, really," I reassured them. I didn't know myself how I felt about the situation, it all happened so fast. One minute I was talking to Cornelius, the next I was being dragged halfway across campus by two cheerleaders, then used as a human target by the jocks.

...

That night I slept better than I had in days, it was like I had forgotten all the nastiness, because I had friends that cared about me. I heard voices around me, I wasn't sure if they was the dream or not, until someone shook me awake.

"What..." I sleepily mumbled.

All I could see was three silhouettes, I couldn't distinguish one from the other. I closed my eyes, I could feel myself drifting back off to sleep.

"Wake up!" One of the silouettes said. I could tell that they were female. They shook me again.

I sat up, reaching for my glasses, wondering who it was and what they wanted. I put my glasses on, and looked at the three girls stood around me; Mandy, Christy and the black haired girl.

"Get your toiletries, and meet us in the bathroom. Bring contact lenses," Mandy said.

She left the room with her two minions, before I could respond. I did have some contact lenses, I used them for Gym class. I looked at the alarm clock on my bedside cabinet - which I hardly ever used, it was 5 am. I climbed out of bed, and retrieved my contact lenses and my toiletries bag from the cabinet and slowly walked to the bathroom. Mandy was waiting with a brown haired girl, who I had seen in the auditorium on my first day, she was sat with the rich kids. The head cheerleader threw a cheerleader uniform at me.

"Put that on, and don't show up at the gym wearing those dorky glasses or have any nerd friends following you, like the groady dorks they are," Mandy demanded.

She left the bathroom with the other girl, leaving me on my own. I wondered if this had anything to do with what happened yesterday, maybe the jocks did want revenge on me after all.

I just wished they would beat me up, and get it over and done with.


	18. To Earnest's Delight

**Disclaimer**: - I don't own Bully, Rockstar does. I do own Sophie.

* * *

**Chapter 18**  
_To Earnest's Delight_

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I can't honestly say that I expected the following events, but I couldn't help wondering why they were actually in place. A need to know basis seemed to be in place within the Jock clique, especially when I showed up at the gym, like asked by Mandy, wearing the cheerleader uniform, gym shoes, and contact lenses instead of glasses. I was just expected to do as I was told, like I wasn't worth telling what was going on. It wasn't until lunch time, when I managed to sneak away to the observatory, when I found out the Jock's true intentions.

"Sophie, is that you?" Cornelius said, squinting as he looked at my face.

"Yes, Cornelius... does the uniform make me that unrecognisable?" I asked.

"No, I just don't think I've seen you with out glasses before," Cornelius replied. "Well, this is what the note meant then."

"What note?" I enquired.

"There was a note taped to the observatory door, this morning," Cornelius explained. "Everyone has been worried about you."

I walked into the observatory with Cornelius, I was pulled into a group hug so quickly, that I almost fell over when they let go of me.

"I'm so glad you are ok!" Beatrice said, her voice full of a assortment of happiness and anxiety. "When you didn't show up this morning, I came looking for you, and no one had seen you."

"And, this random from those barbarians was taped to the door," Melvin said.

Melvin handed me the note Cornelius mentioned, when we spoke outside. I read the 'ransom' as Melvin referred to it, the spelling was atrocious.

'Cry drks, we'll cruss u, u lost ur best wepon.'

"How did you know they were talking about me?" I asked. I tucked a lock of my ginger hair behind my ear.

"Well, you are the best at dodgeball, and it would be just like them to take you hostage, rather than train harder," Donald said, his voice filled with his own bitter hatred for the jocks. "Typical cowards... the lot of them!"

Oddly, no one was surprised by what Donald said. Then again, we were all used to Donald's bitter disdain for anyone on his revenge list, so it wasn't really that odd. I had seen his list, and every single one of the jocks were on it, even the cheerleaders - which included the ones that weren't part of the jock clique.

"What did they do to you?" Algie asked, making his presence known for the first time, since I entered the observatory.

I told them everything that happened this morning, from Mandy waking me up and giving me a cheerleader uniform, to all of her demands, along with the numerous and tedious cheer routines I had to do. How the jocks seemed eerily calm around me, like they expected me to be just one of them, and not ask a single question. Everyone listened to what I had to say, when I was done speaking Earnest let out the cruelest laugh I've ever heard in my entire life.

"This is too perfect..." Earnest said. Earnest paced a little. "This is what we are going to do; Sophie you allow them to believe you're one of them. Don't speak to any of us in future, we need authenticity. If we need to speak to you, we'll leave a note in your locker. In fact, go hang around with them now, because the less you know about the next part, the better."

"Ok," I said, nodding. I turned to walk out, then stopped. "Does that mean I'm not invited to the weekly Grottos and Gremlins games anymore?"

"Until we can get revenge on them, it's best if you don't attend," Earnest said.

"We'll all miss you, of course, but it has to be done, to defeat those barbarians!" Melvin added.

I returned to the football pitch, seemingly undetected, making sure to sit on the bleachers, so I could act like I had been there all a long. Angie and Christy soon found me, neither one believed my excuses, since they had looked here not ten minutes ago. Neither one of them pushed the subject any further, and insisted that I go to the cafeteria with them, to speak to Mandy.

The cheerleaders sat at the top half of the jock's table, even Pinky who was a member of the prep clique sat with them. While Mandy sat, casually reading a magazine, so I didn't actually get to speak with her. Christy, Angie and Pinky told me the rules of being part of the cheerleader squad.

"You can't wear anything that doesn't go with your cheerleader uniform," Pinky explained, while looking at herself in a hand mirror. She was applying lip gloss. "Oh, and if you don't want to wear your uniform during the day, don't even think about putting on that nerd uniform. That would be like, social suicide!"

"Oh, and when it comes to guys, jocks; yes, greasers; no," Christy explained. She back tracked on her words, when Mandy glanced over at her, sternly. "Unless the greaser is really hot, then that's ok. Preps; yes, because rich is good. Bullies; no, unless you need a body guard to get rid of some losers, then that's ok. Non clique students; only if you haven't dated in a while, and need to date someone to get back in the dating mood again. And most importantly; no nerds ever!"

"With guys, you may think that someone is super cute, but you could be wrong," Angie said. I looked at her, eyebrows raised raised. "Because, like a guy could be a total loser, or maybe one of your friends might have dated him before." I had a suspicion that by 'friends' she meant them four.

"Ex boyfriends are off limits to friends, that's like the rules of the world," Pinky said. "It's not just you, we all have to follow these rules. Like, if I was wearing a green ribbon with my uniform, I'd be sitting over their, with the nerds." Both Pinky and I glanced over at the nerd table, who were playing Grottos and Gremlins - I completely missed them. I wished I could play with them, I was yet to use the Princess Sophianna figurine that Melvin gave me for Christmas.

Mandy put her magazine down, I couldn't help noticing that she had a empty tray, with a bottle of water on it. "I think I'm going to get a apple or something, I haven't eaten in like a couple of days."

"A banana would be better," I said, without thinking.

"Do you, like, have something to say?" Mandy demanded, like I had insulted her.

"Oh, nothing..." I muttered. My shyness caught up with me, and I couldn't speak anymore. I noticed that Christy and Angie were giving me funny looks, and were shaking thier heads at me.

"If you have something to say to me, then just totally come out and say it," Mandy said, her eyes forming into a glare.

"Since you haven't eaten in a few days, I'm guessing your energy levels will be low. The potassium in bananas would be good for you, because your diet will be low in it. Despite apples being good for you, bananas are better," I replied. "I have never followed that apple a day thing, making sure I have a banana a day."

"Oh, then hand me a banana," she replied. "That is, like, my new diet. One banana a day."

I knew that she completely misunderstood what I was saying, but at least she was eating more than nothing. That was the last I spoke for the rest of the day, because every time I opened my mouth, my voice abandoned me completely.

* * *

**A/N**: I was going to just delete this story, because I haven't updated it in a year. But, when I started reading it, I totally loved it. I realised, I'd left it at a good point, it could go just about anywhere from the last chapter onwards. I'm not going to alter the layout of the past 17 chapters, to match this one, because it would be too much hassle, and I would like to preserve the past story as it is.

Also, there is a slight shout out to the movie Mean Girls in this part, because I love that movie. The shout out part, is Mandy reading a magazine, while her lackeys give the rules of girl world. Just like Regina, when she's reading the ingredients of a candy bar, while Gretchin and Karen tell Cady the rules of the Plastics.

I hope to write more of this, because I've got a great plot line mapped out - as seen in the summary, because I've changed a little. Also, I'm going to change the story title to, because the title is for the old plot.

Hope you enjoy the story, and if anyone is reading this that read it a year ago, thank you for being so patient with me.

Writing is a joy!

Rose. X


	19. The Laws of the Land

**Disclaimer**: - I don't own Bully, Rockstar does. I do own Sophie.

* * *

**Chapter 19**  
_The Laws of the Land_

* * *

After lunch, Mandy decided to ditch, and sneak out to the carnival for a date with her on again, off again boyfriend Ted. I was happy about that, not because I was interested in her love life, but because I could go to class, and have a chance to talk to my friends. When I saw Beatrice stood outside maths, talking to Bucky, I smiled as I approached them. Both of them ignored me completely.

"Hi, is there something wrong?" I asked them.

"No, nothing, Pom Pom Princess," Bucky mocked.

"Bucky... I haven't changed a bit.." I said, hurt by his words.

Beatrice threw her books to the ground. "Oh, no... I've dropped my books..." Beatrice said, with fake irritation. She slapped the books out of my hands, too. "Oh, no... you have too."

I bent over to pick up my books, as did Beatrice bend down to pick up her own. "What is going on?" I whispered.

"Earnest's plan, we have to act hostile to each other," Beatrice whispered.

We grabbed our own books, and stood up. I wanted to talk to Beatrice and Bucky all the way through maths, but I couldn't. Whatever Earnest was planning, I hope it is going well, but I do miss my friends so much. All of them, especially Melvin and Beatrice. Pinky and Mandy cornered me after class, and dragged me off to the girls dorm. It was during the time that Mrs Peabody made all of us girls to do our homework. It was like she didn't see me, Mandy or Pinky. That I was thankful for, because I always get so embarrassed when she yells at me.

"Like, this how it goes," Mandy said. She pointed at the the younger girls, Melody, Gloria and Karen. The three girls were sat on a sofa near the fireplace, going over thier homework for geography. "Don't bother speaking to them, they are like totally groady little tattlers."

Pinky pointed at the greaser girl, Lola, who was sat near the window, pretending to do her homework, while winking and waving at a greaser boy outside. "Don't speak to her, that tramp is social suicide." I thought this one be difficult, considering we shared a dorm.

Mandy placed her hand on my shoulder, and turned me to face Beatrice and Eunice, who were sat opposite each other at the table, talking about chemistry. "Speaking of social suicide; if you make friends with them, you are not friends with us."

A few seats down from Eunice and Beatrice was a ginger haired girl, Zoe, with punky boots and lace gloves - I had to admit, I did like her gloves. "Oh, and don't speak to her, she is townie trash," Pinky said.

"Of course, you can speak to Angie and Christy, they are like totally our friends," Mandy added, pointing at Christy and Angie who were in deep discussion, pretending that they didn't see Zoe.

"Just, remember, you friends speak volumes about who you are," Pinky said. "My closest friends, other than Mandy of course, are super rich, and handsome."

"As mine - other than Pinky, are all sexy, and athletic, they totally rule the school," Mandy said, like she was actually proud of that statement. "And, yours are a bunch of gross nerds; ditch them!"

My voice had abandoned me, so instead, I nodded my head.

As Mandy and Pinky walked away, arms linked, I heard Mandy say, "Barely says a word; don't you just love that?"

I didn't know what to make of it, or even why they had bothered to tell me anything. It seemed that the less I knew, the better. Since I couldn't talk to my friends, I decided to do my homework in my dorm. It would be quiet in there, and I could just relax and not have to pretend to be anyone else. Sadly, I couldn't enjoy my homework time, because the door suddenly burst open, Mandy was stood in the doorway frame.

"Oi, Dorkling, put some make up on, and comb those bangs," Mandy said, with no niceness in her voice at all. "Damon's date bailed, you're taking her place."

"Um... sure... why me?" I said, my voice slowly giving in all together. "Couldn't Pinky go?" I was actually enjoying doing my english essay.

"Because, she's not a official jock," Mandy replied, with a 'well duh!' tone. "Like, I know this isn't Sir Dork-a-lot, at least try to pretend you're not a nerd lover. Dating Damon might make you to less of a... well..." She thought about it for half a second. "Loser. Now, get ready and be out front ASAP!"

Mandy left the room, closing the door behind her, before I could object - not that I would. Before that moment, I've never actually known anyone to say the abbreviated term 'ASAP' before, 'As soon as possible', yes but never ASAP. To get ready for this date - even though the term 'date' didn't seem right to me, to get ready, I made sure there wasn't any creases on my cheerleader uniform - there wasn't, and brushed my hair to make it look tidy. Putting make up on was a pointless idea, because I didn't own any, and if I did try applying some, I would look like a clown.

Outside the dorm, Mandy, Ted, and this boy Damon was there waiting. As usual, Ted and Mandy were all over each other, but Damon had his hands in the pocket of his letterman jacket. When Mandy and Ted broke apart from thier embrace, Mandy shook her head in disapproval.

"This is going to be harder than I thought..." Mandy said, like I was a difficult project.

"Let's go already, the carnival will be closed, before we even managed to beat someone up!" Ted said. He steered Mandy towards the crossroads, his arm was around her waist.

Damon didn't do the same act with me. Instead, he looked at me disappointed, and said, "Yeah, what he said."

Not that I've had many dates, in fact my friend date with Melvin was my only one, this would probably rank as the worst one ever, when I finally do get some dating experience. Upon arriving at the carnival, Ted insisted on playing the Strike Out game, to boost his own ego. Then made a bad pun, that didn't make any sense to me, about hoping that he didn't 'strike out' with Mandy. I failed to see the humor in it.

"I suppose you want me to win you something," Damon said, like I was such a chore.

"No..." was all I managed to say, before my voice gave in.

"Dude, can't leave a chick without a prize," Ted said, glancing over at Damon. "That's like going on the ferris wheel, and not feeling a chick up."

I could have sworn I saw Damon roll his eyes, but I couldn't be one hundred percent positive. At first, Damon wasn't even attempting to play the game properly, but eventually his ego took over, and he got into a competition thing with Ted, to see who could win the most tickets. Then of course, a couple of other jock boys that were 'conveniently' there, and 'had no idea we were here to', started drawing attention to them. Mandy began cheering for Ted, and kissing him whenever he won some tickets, then whispering suggestive things in his ear.

* * *

**A/N**: I totally had fun with this story, showing the two facedness of cheerleaders. Well, enjoy the chapter.

Writing is a joy!

Rose. X


	20. Who I Am

**Disclaimer**: - I don't own Bully, Rockstar does. I do own Sophie.

* * *

**Chapter 20**  
_Who I Am_

* * *

The date, or whatever this was, didn't get much better. Once Ted and Damon had successfully boosted their egos, they decided to go get some prizes. Mandy didn't speak to me at all, I got the impression that she didn't like me, by the way she stood so her back was facing me, and the fact that when Angie came over to talk to her, Mandy made clear hints that people should be in their place, no matter what they had done. Ted and Damon returned, Ted presented Mandy with a teddy bear, which in return, she kissed him and told him that she would make out with him on the ferris wheel.

With no enthusiasm at all, Damon forcibly handed me the bear, and said, "Here."

"Thank you," I replied, while looking at the bear.

I wasn't happy to receive the bear, nor was I happy to be on this date. Roleplaying with Melvin in the meadow, or playing Grottos and Gremlins with Thad and Cornelius, or plotting with the others would have appealed to me more. Not a teddy bear, from someone I didn't care about, that clearly didn't care about me either.

Things didn't get much better, as the days went on. I heard that Melvin had started a live action roleplay club, it was mainly Melvin, Beatrice and Bucky roleplaying in our meadow. I longed for the days of Rosewood, were we could just frolic, pretending to be Princess Sophianna and Sir Melvino. Despite wanting to talk to them, I had to ignore them, and be a cheerleader.

"I'm thinking of putting on two pounds," Mandy told us, while we were getting changed for gym.

Christy, Angie and Pinky looked at each other exchanging awkward glances, wondering if this was a mouse trap comment.

"That would be a good idea," I told Mandy. "It's a common misconception, that it is required to be skinny to put on muscle. Besides, muscle weighs more than fat."

Pinky shook her head, like she was trying to tell me to shut up, but not actually say the words. Just like Angie and Christy, they always stayed on Mandy's good side, by showering her in compliments, whenever Mandy mentioned anything about her own appearance.

"You know, you are so right," Mandy said, surprising everyone - even me. "So, like from now on, I'm going to try to put on two pounds. Thanks for the tip, Sophie."

The other girls looked at me open mouthed, like they wondered how I'd gotten away with saying something like that, and not end up being humiliated in front of the whole school. Even I didn't know, but as long as I was helping Earnest out with his plan, that didn't matter to me. I glanced over in Beatrice's direction, wanting so much to go talk to her right now, and tell her everything, but I couldn't.

Mandy got up, to go to the boy's changing room, probably to 'talk' to Ted. "Move dork!" Mandy said, as she shoved Beatrice right out of her way.

Beatrice stumbled trying to steady herself, she bumped right into Eunice, who didn't yell at her. The both of them were targets of Mandy's bullying, so I'm not surprised that Eunice helped her. As I left the changing room, Beatrice accidently bumped into me, as we both tried to walk through the door at the same time.

"Watch where you're going, Nerd!" I blurted out. I gasped as soon as I realised what I'd said. I never meant to insult my own friend like this. "I'm sorry..." I added right away.

Beatrice looked emotionally hurt, at the fact that I'd used 'Nerd' in the insulting sense. Not so long ago, I was one of them. With out saying anything, Beatrice just turned away, and walked up the stairs to the gym. I received some praise from Pinky, on finally being 'one of them', but I didn't want it. The last thing I wanted, was to be one of them. I couldn't go to Gym. Instead, I waited until all the other girls had left the changing room, and changed back into my cheerleader uniform. I hated that I had to wear it, but my green uniform was back in my dorm.

As I looked at myself in the mirror, and brushed my ginger hair, I noticed that it had grown half an inch since I started at this school. Not that it mattered, it was just something simple that I barely noticed. It was funny how I spent so much time of late trying to get Mandy to like me, when I didn't even like her that much. When I put my hair brush back in my locker, I noticed that there was my spare pair of glasses in there. So the gym teacher wouldn't see me, I used the pool block exit. I didn't stop walking, until I was in the meadow. I looked at the glasses in my hand. The glasses were a part of who I am. I'm not the girl that likes boys, make up and fashion. I'm the girl that gets shy around everyone, and wears glasses, and even pretends to be a princess.

When I returned to my dorm that night, I decided that I wasn't going to miss out on all the fun activities with my friends, like Grottos & Gremlins night, or Melvin's new live action roleplay. I was going to be what I am; a Nerd!

* * *

**A/N**: Sorry about taking my time with the updates.. I get so many ideas in my head, that I end up writing other stories then them not getting finished. :(

Anyway, with this chapter, I thought Sophie was too easily going along with the whole 'you're a cheerleader now' thing, so I'm going to have her struggle with it a bit.

Thanks for reading! :D Rose X


	21. The Darkside of Popularity

**Disclaimer**: - I don't own Bully, Rockstar does. I do own Sophie.

* * *

**Chapter 21**  
_The Darkside of Popularity_

* * *

It was a lot of fun having a double life. I could 'hang out' with Mandy and the other cheerleaders knowing that I'm helping Earnest with his plan, then go play Grottos & Gremlins in Dragon's Wing with Beatrice, Melvin and everyone, while we eat burgers and not care about our weight. That was another thing that was great at Bullworth, Enda had slipped on something in the kitchen and some how broken her leg, so they brought in a replacement cook, John. He was a really nice guy, who had OCD, so he had memorized 2 things about everyone and knew all our names by the end of the day. All the Jocks called him a weirdo. I thought that was insensitive and rude, but I couldn't say anything at all about it.

"Morning Mandy, Sophie, and Pinky too!"John said, when it was our turn to get some food. "What can I get you today?"

"I'm like trying to put on 3 pounds, but I don't like want to be fat," Mandy said. Mandy was convinced John was a god, when it came to dietary advise, for some reason I didn't know.

"How about a cheese sandwich with whole wheat bread?" John suggested. "The cheese will help with the weight gain, along with the butter, but the wheat bread makes it healthy."

"Great, I'll have one of those then!" Mandy said, cheerfully. I started to suspect that she might have a crush on him.

John was kind of good looking, and was young, since he was just out of college. I'm sure Mandy wasn't the only one that had a crush on him. Then it was my turn.

"Ah, new cheerleader Sophie," John said, as he turned to me. "Don't tell me... pizza with pepperoni?" I nodded my head. "I knew it!" He served the food up on my tray.

As we moved further down the counter, to get a soda, Mandy turned to me and said, "Oh, so that explains why you are such a cow."

I looked down at myself, with a twinge of vanity. My uniform fit me perfectly. "I'm not a cow... my uniform fits me..." I muttered, before my voice gave in. I reached for a Beam Cola, only to find Mandy took the last one. I'll probably have to go to the machine in the foyer or something.

"Yeah, everyone knows that a cheerleader uniform shouldn't fit," Pinky said, her usual 'lovely' way. "It has to be loose on you."

I decided to ignore them. They don't realise it now, but their constant dieting was doing them more harm than good. While they talked about the four things I don't care about, (hair, fashion, gossip and boys), I sat looking over at the Nerds table, while eating my pizza. Today Algie had gotten a new cap, with a funny play on words on it, it said 'Orc what?', he was proudly showing it to Thad and Melvin. I couldn't help snickering, it was a very funny hat. Mandy misunderstood me, thinking my laughter was mocking.

"What losers! I mean, wearing hats that are total eye-sores!" Mandy said. "I, like totally, have half a mind to go over there and insult them."

I nodded my head, and returned to my pizza. I silently hoped that she wouldn't ask me to go with her. The last thing I wanted, was to go over there and mock my only real friends at this school. None of them were probably speaking to me, after I called Beatrice a nerd, in the insulting sense.

"In fact, Pinky, let's put a stop to that crime against fashion," Mandy ordered.

Mandy and Pinky rushed off to bully Algie into getting rid of that hat. I was relieved they didn't ask me to go. Once I had returned my empty tray, I walked out into the foyer, to get a soda from the machine. There wasn't really that many kids out here. Just Ted leaning with his back against the wall, watching Bucky and Cornelius talking on the other side of the foyer. I hadn't notice that Melvin had walked out after me, and joined Bucky and Cornelius in their discussion.

I approached the vending machine, and inserted my quarter. There was only one choice, yet they had five buttons for 'Beam Cola.' Seemed a waste to me. Just after I collected my soda from the slot, Ted approached me, and put his arm across my shoulder.

"'Sup?" Ted said, trying to act all cool.

I muttered something completely inaudible. Not only was Ted dating Mandy, but he was now hitting on me! I'd seen him do this move on Mandy numerous times. I thought he hated me, well, he did a couple of weeks ago.

"How about you and I go somewhere private, and get to know each other better?" Ted asked.

I gagged, not only because I found him repulsive, but because the smell of two stink bombs engulfed us. When I came around to my senses, I saw Ted charging after Bucky, Cornelius and Melvin, who split up to escape him. I knew that wasn't a hit to act like they hated me, they were helping me. I took a step towards the doors, to go get a shower, when I saw Christy stood there, open mouthed, staring at me. It was obvious that she had seen everything. Christy ran off to tell Mandy her juicy new gossip. I just knew, that when Christy told it, it wouldn't be Ted doing all the flirting.

There was nothing I could do about it now, I really needed to shower and change. Luckily, I did have a spare cheerleader uniform, Angie had made sure to give me two, so I had one for when the other was in the wash. When I was in the shower, I heard someone come in.

"Can you believe that nerd lover?" said someone I was sure sounded like Mandy. "The nerve to hit on Ted, when she knows he loves me."

"I know right? Ted wouldn't even look at a heifer like her," said a girl with a posh faux-British accent. Most likely Pinky.

"Yeah. Well, I'm not letting the loser get away with it," Mandy replied. "The only reason I let her on the squad, is because Ted's planning a little revenge hit on her and those disgusting Nerds."

"I don't even know why he bothers," Pinky replied. "She's nothing special. I could tell that, the minute she stepped foot in this school."

"Like, me too. You just know, that some people are a complete bitch," Mandy replied.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Christy had clearly twisted it, to make me out to be some temptress that had threw herself at Ted, and now Mandy and Pinky claimed to have hated me all along. I was sure that neither of them even knew who I was, before the rumours of me and Melvin were supposedly dating - even though we never were.

* * *

**A/N**: Another chapter! (About time too, Rose! XP) Thanks to everyone that reviewed! :D

For this one, I felt I should focus on all the backstabbing going on, and kinda link back to that part of the story when the Jocks tried to get revenge on her the first time.

I will work on my other stories, but because this one has been unfinished for longer than any of my stories, I'm giving it my full attention.

Thanks for reading! :D Rose X


	22. Kindness Snowballs

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Bully, Rockstar does. I do own Sophie.

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**Chapter 22**  
_Kindness Snowballs_

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After hearing what Mandy and Pinky said about me, I couldn't face them. They may be happy to pretend to be my friend, but I wasn't in the mood to pretend to be theirs. Once they had left the bathroom, I could finally come out of the shower. I returned to my dorm, making sure to put on my Nerd uniform, and tie my hair back. It is unwise to go out with wet hair, but at the moment I couldn't care. If I got a cold, then I would just make sure to pass it on to Mandy and Pinky, that would be my revenge.

Normally I wouldn't ditch class, but it was gym, and I would see Mandy, Ted, and all the other Jocks. That was a "privilege" of being a Jock, "we" were all in the same gym class. I don't see myself as a Jock. When I hear the guys saying their stupid ego lines, and thinking adding "Dude" to it makes them sound cool, I stop listening. I didn't understand why they took an interest in me at all, but now I knew. I should have known that they wouldn't just forget about it, and keep me in their clique.

As these thoughts swam around my mind, I walked to Bullworth Town. I knew the only safe haven for a nerd like me, would be Dragon's Wing. Zack was restocking the comics display, when I walked into the store. He looked up at me, and smiled.

"Greetings, Sophie, it's been a while since you stopped by," Zack said, as he added the last comic.

"Hi Zack. I'm having a bad day, is it ok if I stick around for a while?" I asked, as I looked at the Grottos & Gremlins display.

"Sure!" Zack said, sincerely. I knew he wasn't saying that to get me to stick around and buy something, he was genuinely being nice. A concept that I didn't get very often, since this whole plan thing. "You know you're always welcome here."

"Thank you," I said, smiling.

I noticed that there was some new figurines in store, all of them were elves. Some had been painted, some hadn't. The painted ones caught my eye every time, because I didn't have the patience or the talent to be able to paint my own.

Zack must have noticed me looking, because he said, "Looking for an elven princess?" I turned to him and nodded. Zack removed something from under the counter, and opened his hand to reveal a figurine. "Painted her myself."

I walked over to get a better look. The figurine was beautiful. She had long ginger hair, with a intricate braids entwined with the golden circlet. Her robes were long and green, with little intricate golden patterns down the sleeve. and across the bodice. The skin tone was the same shade as mine, and I was sure she had green eyes. In her hand was a golden staff, with what looked like a emerald at the top - of course it wasn't a real emerald, it was just painted to look that way.

"She is beautiful," I said, looking at the figurine with amazement. "How much?"

"I'll tell you what, I'll play you for her," Zack said, as he put the figurine in my hand.

"What do you mean?" I asked, looking at the figurine in my hand.

"If you can beat me at a game of Grottos & Gremlins, she's yours to keep. If you lose, she's $10," Zack said.

"I didn't bring my dice or my cards... or anything..." I said, with a disappointed tone. I would very much like to win that figurine, but I had been a very rubbish Nerd lately. I had allowed Mandy's shallow ways to influence my behaviour, thoughts, even interests.

"I always keep some spare behind the counter," Zack replied, happily.

"Ok, you're on!" I replied. "I am Princess Sophianna of Rosewood!"

"Milady, I am the noble Sir Zackariah of Dragonia," Zack replied, with a smile.

I thoroughly enjoyed playing Grottos & Gremlins with Zack. It reminded me of the mornings when I would battle with guys during breakfast. Even the hardships of the last week were forgotten, as I battled an orc, to get into the oubliette, where the gauntlets of virtue would be gifted to my by the elven maiden of elven realm. I started to get the suspicion that Zack was letting me win, because in the tomb of Terra, when he was supposed to go through unharmed like his dice roll indicated, he told me that he got trapped in a web, and I was too far ahead to save him. Before I knew it, it was closing time. I had just completed the grotto.

"Congratulations, you win," Zack said, as he placed the figurine into my hand.

"Thank you!" I said, smiling at him.

I made a mental note, to make sure to take care of it, and keep it safe away from the ever critical eye of Mandy. What would she say, if she saw me in a comic book store? Right now, I didn't care. I helped Zack put the G&G board away, along with the cards, character sheets and figurines. As I left the store, my mind was on the figurine in my pocket. It was so nice of Zack to do that for me, it really made me feel like a proper member of the Nerd clique, because I had heard he would sometimes play a game of G&G against the guys, for rarer cards or something.

There was a homeless man sat near a trash can, in the alleyway, he had an empty cup beside him. I couldn't help feeling sorry for him. He had a long beard, clothes that looked like they would disintegrate if he took them off. He look so thin, like he hadn't eaten in days. I reached into my pocket, to find only the figurine, and a twenty dollar bill. The figurine was returned to my pocket, and the money was dropped into this man's cup. I would probably have no money, until Mum and Dad sent me some more next week, but that didn't bother me.

"Hey, Girly," the homeless man called out to me.

I turned around, and looked him right in the eyes. Most people around here see homeless people as scum, so I doubt anyone has looked him in the eyes in a long time.

"Sure you want to give me so much?" he asked.

I nodded my head. "You need it more than me," I said.

I continued on my way. Doing something nice, like giving money to a homeless man, made me feel good. Later, when I went to her dorm, Beatrice told me that a homeless man had scared away some Jocks, that where trying to bully her into doing their homework for them. Beatrice told me that she had gone to city hall, to get a blueprint of Bullworth Academy, for her project. When three Jocks, Dan, Damon and Ted, surrounded her. She described a homeless man with a long beard running towards them yelling, he then chased them off. When she told me the time of when this happened, I couldn't help smiling. It was an hour after I gave the money to that man.

Doing something nice for someone, is more than doing them a kindness. It snowballs, and comes back to you in a good way. Zack had done me a kindness by giving me the figurine, in turn I gave money to a homeless man, that homeless man then scared away some Jocks bullying Beatrice, meaning Mandy would have to go 'cheer up' her boyfriend, leaving me and Beatrice to be able to do homework together and have a proper conversation.

* * *

**A/N**: Thanks to those that have reviewed! :D

Ok, in this chapter, I thought that I should just give Sophie a break, and let her be a Nerd. I got the whole thing about her giving money to Handy, from a story I wrote once, to do with a homeless guy that was down on his luck, was given some money from someone, and turned his life around. I guess time will tell, if Sophie giving Handy that money will make him turn his life around.

I've thought this through, and I would like to change the name of this story. But, I don't know what it should be. In the next chapter, I will post three of my ideas, and maybe you my readers, could choose one. I would love to see any suggestions you have, so do tell me if you have any ideas or suggestions.

Thanks for reading! :D Rose X


	23. LARP Battle For Thy Hand, Maiden Fair

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Bully, Rockstar does. I do own Sophie.

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**Chapter 23**  
_LARP Battle For Thy Hand, Maiden Fair._

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The following morning, we were told, that for the next week, there will be no classes. All the teachers were doing some training program, for themselves, while Crabblesnitch recruited a new teacher, to fill the vacant slots for maths and gym, why they chose to do so half way through winter, instead of at the start of the year, no one will ever know. Everyone took the news well. Good thing about it was, I actually got a chance to spend some time with my friends. We decided to sit at our table in the caf, because we could do so with out being bullied by other cliques.

"How about a game of G&G?" Algie suggested.

Fatty looked up from a magazine that Zack had given him. "Again? This our day off, I want to do something different."

"Well, what do you suggest?" Algie asked.

"I just read that they're showing a G&G movie today, we should all go," Fatty replied, while showing him the advert in the magazine.

"I can't go," I said, disappointed. "I gave all my money to a homeless person."

"That's alright, I'll pay for you," Cornelius said, as he looked up from his collection of G&G cards. "My dad sent me some more money, because of my grades."

"I would feel so guilty if you did," I said, honestly.

"You could play him for it," Thad suggested, as he began setting up the G&G game board. "If he wins, you let him pay for you. If you win, you pay him back when you get some money."

"Actually, I have a better idea," Melvin said, he glanced over at me. I knew what he was about to say. "Milady, wouldst thou share thy knowledge of the rules?"

I looked at the table, as I said, "In Rosewood, honor is prized above all..." Then, my voice gave in.

"We have our maidens fair," Melvin said, gesturing at Beatrice and I. "The brave knight, that claims victory over the others, shall select a maiden to attend the showing of G&G with them tonight." I could tell that he thoroughly enjoyed the moments, when he going go all out with LARP. "Better yet, we shall form two teams. The last man standing, from each team, shall claim the prize. Men, do you accept, or are you cowards?"

"Let's do this!" Fatty said, enthusiastically.

"I'm in, coolio!" Algie said, trying to be cool.

There was a round of, "Yeah! I'm in!" from the others.

So, it began. Beatrice and I stood at the top of the first set of steps on the main staircase, acting as a stage. We were there, as trophies, even though I would have liked to join in, but the guys were very enthusiastic about it. They had divided into two teams; Earnest as leader of team 1, with Bucky, Algie and Donald. Melvin as leader of team 2, with Thad, Fatty and Cornelius. Melvin told the rules, mentioning that the battle field was the foyer, anyone that left was disqualified. For weapons, they used yardsticks provided by Thad.

Two minutes after the battle began, King Jones the Earnest was defeated by Sir Melvino, who caught King Jones the Earnest off guard. Sir Melvino had accidently broken his yardstick, and had to claim King Jones's yardstick as his own. The Great Mathematician delt a fatal blow to Prince Algie. Earnest and Algie stepped aside, for the others to compete. Next to be defeated was Fatal Stench, at the hands of Mighty Donald the Vengeful. Locked in an epic duel, was Bastian the Bard and Thor the Just. Bastian the Bard was the victor. The Great Mathematician was defeated by Sir Melvino, as Bastian the Bard defeated Mighty Donald the Vengeful.

Once both Melvin and Bucky had made a huge thing of 'choosing which maiden to accompany them', Beatrice and I had to go back to our dorms to get ready to go see the movie. The school campus was actually quite empty, everyone must be out enjoying their day off.

"That was so much fun, watching the guys fight like that," Beatrice said, as we approached the crossroads.

"It was. I would have preferred to join in," I admitted. Beatrice didn't look surprised, she knew that I liked getting involved in live action role play. "What is your RPG name, anyway?"

"Lady Bea of Trudeau," Beatrice replied. "A battle maiden from a tribe of amazon women. Sounds silly, but I quite like the idea of being much stronger than I am."

"That's not silly. I imagine myself as a princess, because I've always wondered what it would be like, to be much loved and beautiful," I admitted.

Beatrice and I discussed this, until we parted ways in the common room. As I walked up the stairs, on the way to my dorm, I couldn't help thinking about why I created Princess Sophianna. Right now, I knew popularity is overrated. I was considered one of the popular crowd, but I wasn't happy. When I was happy, I was at the bottom of the social ladder with my very uncool friends. I most likely would have felt different, if I had become popular for better reasons, or on my own terms. As I walked into my dorm, the door opposite the stairs, I heard a noise of something scraping against wood. I chose to ignore it, there are always notices like that in here.

I couldn't stop myself from screaming, as I heard a boy say, "Miss me?" I turned around to see Gary climbing out of my wardrobe.

A few seconds later, I heard Beatrice shout "Sophie... are you ok?" from downstairs.

"Get rid of her," he mouthed at me.

"I-I...I'm fine, Beatrice... I just thought I saw a spider," I shouted back. My heart was racing that fast, I could almost feel it in my throat. "I-I was wrong... it's a scrunchy.."

"You had me worried for a minute," Beatrice shouted back. "I'll meet you outside, when I'm done changing."

"Nice lie," Gary commented. He sat on the spare bed, as if this was his own dorm. "Good to know you're not as meek as I give you credit for."

"W-what... what are you doing here?" I asked, still trembling.

"What are you doing here?" Gary mocked. He then scoffed. "I can go where ever I like. None of these morons can stop me. I'm untouchable." Gary smirked, like he was enjoying watching me squirm. "Fantasizing with a bunch of Nerds? That seems ungrateful to me."

I knew I would have to tread carefully around him. It had been almost a month since his time in Happy Volts, he probably hadn't taken any medication in that time. Gary was dangerous, like a ticking time bomb.

"What do you mean ungrateful?" I asked, my confusion reflecting on my face.

Gary stood up, and grabbed my arms. He shook me. "I hand you exactly what you need, to join the so called elite... and you throw it all back at me, by playing with Nerds!" Gary whispered angrily. The look in his eyes was completely psychotic.

I would have responded, but I had both lost the courage to speak, and my eyes were filling up with tears. All I remember after that, was a pain in my head as the world went dark, and the feeling that I was falling.

* * *

**A/N**: Thanks to those that have reviewed! :D

I know I said I'd come up with some new story titles, but I got distracted by the RPG names for all the Nerds. Also, LARP stands for Live Action Role Play. In this chapter, I know that Thad's lisp vanished. I find that very dificult to write, and read. (I found it difficult to proof read to... D:)

Last night for fun, I made a new OC girl Nerd, and my friend and I though she would be a perfect match for one of the other nerds. I was going to give her a story of her own, but it would be good to have another Nerd girl in this story. So, what do you think about adding another girl OC to the story?

The RPG cast are as follows:

_King Jones the Earnest: Earnest_

_Prince Algie: Algie (of course.) _

_The Great Mathematician: Cornelius_

_Fatal Stench: Fatty_

_Mighty Donald the Vengeful: Donald_

_Bastian the Bard: Bucky_

_Thor the Just: Thad_

Thanks for reading! :D Rose X


	24. The Moment That Changes Everything

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Bully, Rockstar does. I do own Sophie.

* * *

**Chapter 24**  
_The Moment That Changes Everything._

* * *

I could hear the same voice saying, "Sophie... wake up..." over and over. My eyes slowly flickered open, I could see something that looked like a blurry version of Beatrice. My glasses must have fallen off. Everything came into focus, as someone put my glasses back on me. I could see Beatrice and Melvin sat either side of me looking very concerned.

"Are you ok?" Beatrice asked, her voice laced with worry. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No he... wait, he?" I asked confused. Did she know about Gary?

"We saw someone that used to go here leaving your room," Melvin explained. For a few moments, Beatrice and Melvin exchanged looks, like they were both worried about saying their thoughts out loud. "A very dangerous someone, that almost destroyed the school. No one knows exactly what he's capable of. We were afraid that he'd killed you."

Bucky walked into the room, there was dust in his hair, and down his clothes. "I pursued him up to the attic, but he attacked me. I would have caught him, if he hadn't have thrown off my glasses."

"That's ok, Bucky. You did your best," Beatrice said, reassuringly.

Melvin broken eye contact with me since I'd woke up. "Sophie, Gary is the reason you got fired, wasn't he?" I wasn't surprised that Melvin had figured it out, even though I've never told him. I nodded my head. "We need to talk to the others," Melvin said, while standing up. "Everyone deserves to know that Gary has some hold over Sophie, and we need to break that hold."

It didn't take long to gather everyone. Soon, we were all locked inside the observatory, sat in a circle on either crates or boxes. Melvin had gotten a blanket and put it around me, he even sat next to me on the same crate - it wasn't a small crate, there was more than enough room for the both of us. Beatrice and Bucky were also sitting on the same crate as each other.

"What the emergency? I thought we were going to see the G&G movie," Earnest asked, irritably.

"Gary attacked Sophie, and was seen coming out of her dorm room," Melvin said, getting straight to the point.

There was a few worried gasps, from everyone except Beatrice, Bucky, Thad, Melvin and I. Thad knew already, because I bumped into him the day Gary escaped. Fatty noticed Thad's lack of surprise.

"Aren't you worried?" Fatty asked.

"I am, very much so," Thad said. "I already knew. I saw Sophie right after he escaped."

"You knew?" Earnest said, pointing at me accusingly. "You knew all along, that the biggest sociopath to ever come to this school was on the loose, yet you didn't feel the need to tell us?"

"Yeah, I thought we were friends!" Algie chimed in.

Melvin stood up, shielding me from their accusing eyes. "I'm sure Sophie has a good reason for not telling us. But turning on her won't change anything. I would wager a bet that turning on each other is exactly what Gary wants. There are two sides to every tale, you all know that, so I think Sophie should be given a chance to tell us hers."

Then, all eyes were on me. My voice stuck in my throat, but I knew I had to tell them what happened. So, I began talking. I told them everything; about when I first met Gary, how he deceived me, even how I had accidently freed him, even telling him that he was the one that convinced me to throw the dodgeball at Ted.

"That's why I'm on the cheerleader squad... because Gary wanted me to be. He might have a plan, but just like both plans in place - made by Earnest and Ted, I don't know what they are," I concluded.

"What do you mean Ted? He doesn't have a plan," Earnest said, his denial was clear. We all knew, that he could deal with the fact that Gary held all the strings, but not Ted. Not his archnemesis. The boy that had bullied him since his first day in school.

"I over heard Mandy talking in the girl's bathroom, she did mention that Ted had some kind of plan involving me," I replied. I probably made him feel worse, but it wasn't intentional.

Everyone remained silent for nearly ten minutes, like we were all trying to make sense of what happened. After all, it was a lot to process. But, I never felt closer to them, than I did in that moment. They could have accused me of lying, they could have kicked me out of the clique, but they didn't. Melvin paced while he thought. Soon, he wasn't the only one. Earnest was pacing, and muttering things to himself.

"I've got it!" Earnest said, shattering the silence. "We will forget about our old plan. It wouldn't have worked anyway. Sophie, you remain a cheerleader. I will let that buffoon Ted think he holds all the cards, while we focus our attentions on Gary."

"What about Sophie? He knows where her dorm is. What if he tries to attack her again?" Melvin asked, seeing the only flaw in Earnest's idea.

"I could hack the school computers," Fatty suggested. "I could have Sophie transferred into a new dorm."

"Put her in with Pinky and Mandy," Donald suggested. "Hold on a minute!" he added, when all eyes where on him and giving him a 'are you out of your mind?' look. "If we put her in with them, then both Ted and Gary will think their plans are working."

"That is a good point," Beatrice agreed. As Beatrice tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, she said, "I would much rather she be my dormmate, but that would be for more selfish reasons."

"Actually..." Earnest said, while scratching his chin. "Putting Sophie in with you wouldn't be a bad idea. Mandy does steal your homework after all... she may convince Sophie to do her bidding, and you could provide her with incorrect notes."

We continued to scheme and plot for nearly an hour, working out every last detail. I was glad to know what was going on for a change. By the time we left the observatory, it was already dark, with only half hour until curfew. We would all get in trouble, if we didn't return to our dorms soon. Melvin and Bucky made sure to walk Beatrice and I back to the girl's dorm.

Once inside, I turned to Beatrice and asked, "Are you and Bucky dating?"

Beatrice's cheeks flushed pink. "Well... we are going to see how things go."

"When did this happen?" I asked, surprised. I didn't remember seeing them leave alone, and I was a little hurt that she didn't tell me.

"When we all went quiet, to think, Bucky whispered in my ear, saying he was worried about me, and didn't want to let anything bad happen to me," Beatrice replied. As we walked towards the corridor that forked off from the common room, Beatrice added, "I know I saw Bucky as a friend, but he has been there for me. My interest in Jimmy didn't do me any good. Maybe I should try dating a nice boy."

"I'm happy for you, both of you," I replied, with a smile. "No one is ever interested in me."

"I don't think that's true," Beatrice said, giving me a knowing look.

"Who could like me?" I asked.

Beatrice didn't reply, she just tapped her nose, then walked back to her dorm leaving me stood there with a very confused expression. I didn't see what she was getting at. I thought about it more, as I walked up the stairs on the way to my dorm. No boys really had showed any interest in me, except for Ted, but that was just some kind of plot to get Christy gossiping - at least I hope so. Then there was that date with Damon, but he would have shown more interest in a troll than me. Maybe there's someone I haven't met yet.

* * *

**A/N**: Thanks for reading, and if you've reviewed, thanks for that too!

I thought I should finally put an end to the whole Gary plot, because that's seriously pulling Sophie away from the main plot. This isn't the end of it, it's just the build up to the end. I also felt sorry for Melvin in this one. Just as Beatrice throws Bucky a bone and pulls him out the friendzone, Melvin gets put in it by Sophie.

As promised, I said I'd think up three titles for you my readers to choose from.

_The Battle of the Bullworth Kingdom._

_Grottos & Jocks_

_Once Upon A Time In Bullworth_

I'm fine with it, if none of them are right. I may just keep the title as it is.


	25. Intended For Me

**A Note From Rose**: This might be the last chapter I publish for a while. I'm still not sure what to change the name of the story to. I did mention what the choices for the new name in my author's notes in the last chapter. Also, I can only write so far with out the OC I mentioned in my author's notes in chapter 23. I'll re-add the story names in my A/N at the end of the chapter, along with the small amount of info on the OC.

The reason I'm not updating for a while, is because I currently have no plot ideas in mind, with out that OC, and with the current title. When I come to a decision, I'll update then.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Bully, Rockstar does. I do own Sophie.

* * *

**Chapter 25**  
_Intended For Me._

* * *

Before I knew it, our week off was over. I couldn't hang with my friends anymore, even though I enjoyed the daily LARP or game of Grottos & Gremlins. As I returned to the top of the social ladder with the sword of Ted's revenge forever hanging over my head, my nerdly friends remained at the bottom ever searching for Gary. I felt bad, that they had to look for Gary, but I couldn't do it on my own. He had attacked me once already, and if he's capable of anything, who knows what he might do next time.

I sat in maths, Mandy sat one side of me, Christy on the other. Apparently, that's a perk of being a cheerleader, all being in the same classes whenever possible. Mandy was gossiping with Pinky, who was sat behind her, while Christy gossiped with Angie in the seat in front of her. I tried to drown them out, but it was impossible. While Christy told Angie all about some girl she was convinced had to be pregnant, Mandy told Pinky all about her new diet.

"An, she hasn't used any lady pads this month, I checked," Christy told Angie.

"You don't think she's...?" Angie replied, like it was the best gossip in the world.

"All I have to do, is eat one banana in the morning, then a cube of cheese at night. I'll be so skinny and hot, Ted won't be able to keep his hands off me," Mandy said, like that was a good thing.

"I'll totally have to try that. Derby won't even kiss me at a dinner party, when we have to act like a couple," Pinky replied.

My head slowly moved closer, and closer to the table. I longed for the days, when I could just talk to Beatrice and Cornelius. They were playing a game of Grottos & Gremlins, but the trading card version. That's all maths seemed to be, because we didn't have a teacher, was just doing whatever we liked. Mandy swerved around in her chair.

"So, what diet are you trying, Sophie?" Mandy asked. "Because, we know you like the cow look, but you can't, like, stay the fat one forever."

"I'm not on a diet..." I said, before my voice gave in.

"Maybe the cheer routines will slim you down," Mandy sniped. She turned back to Pinky, and continued her conversation.

Just when I thought I was in the clear, when Christy pulled me into her conversation. "Heard any rumors, Sophie?"

I shook my head.

"You never hear anything," Christy said, disappointed.

I was the only one paying attention, when a silver haired man, in a tweed suit walked into the room. He had a very worn in suitcase, that was held closed by a leather belt. There was something familiar about him, even though I'd never seen him before in my life. He was clean shaved.

"Morning class," the man said. He wrote his name on the board, 'Mr Handy.' "Open your textbooks to page 112, solve the problems. Keep going until you reach page 116."

"Aren't you that smelly homeless guy, that lives in a trash can in Bullworth Town?" Mandy asked, giving him a look of disgust.

"Any questions not maths related, could you please save them until the end of the class," Mr Handy replied.

I looked at the face of Mr Handy, as he sat at his desk. He called the class register, and made a seating plan of us, to help him learn our names. Was Mandy right, was he the homeless guy from Bullworth Town? If he was, it was good to see that he had gotten a job. I worked on my maths problems, I was glad we finally had a proper maths class, it was one of the classes I enjoyed. When the bell rang, everyone collected their things, and left. I was last, because I had to make sure all my notes are organized.

"Sophie, may I speak with you for a moment?" Mr Handy said, as I had gathered all my things.

"Yes, Sir," I said. I approached his desk. I looked him in the eyes, and I realised it was him.

"It is good to see you again," Mr Handy said, with a smile. "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have this job."

"It is you!" I said, amazed. "I thought it was you... I didn't want to say anything, in case I was wrong.."

"When I got that money, I was going to spend it on liquor, but then I thought 'Handy, no, you can't spend that nice girl's money on that.' So, I got myself a cheap suit from worn in. Applied for the job here, like, now I'm in gainful employment," Mr Handy explained.

"Congratulations on your new job," I said, with a smile.

When I left the classroom, Angie was there waiting for me. "Um, Sophie..." Angie said, awkwardly holding one of her pigtails. "I was supposed to keep quiet about this, but I don't feel right about it..."

"What is wrong, Angie?" I asked. I couldn't help wondering if it was a trick or not. But, knowing Angie it probably wasn't.

"At practice, when we're going through our routine, Mandy's going to make you stand under the tree. Then Kirby's going to drop a bucket full of Edna's cooking on you," Angie confessed.

Angie didn't stick around, in case someone saw her and told Mandy. I was completely shocked, that they would do something so cruel. The humiliation on Ted from what I did was temporary, he could easily shed it, when he scored a touchdown at the big game. Or do well in practice. But me, I will never loose the emotional scars this would cause. I would have this hanging over my head, until I graduated. Earnest and Algie had heard everything.

"Sophie," Earnest said, as he put his hand on my shoulder.

"Yes?" I said, at the shock of his touch. I wasn't expecting it.

"Go to practise, Algie and I will make sure nothing happens to you," Earnest promised.

I couldn't help wondering what they had in mind, but I didn't have enough time to ask. They were talking to Jimmy, when I left. There wasn't anyone in the changing rooms, so I came to the conclusion that everyone was on the football pitch already. I noticed Luis at the vending machine getting a soda. He nodded his head at me. For a moment, I considered asking him if Gary had manipulated the Jocks in anyway, but I knew he probably wouldn't tell me. Mandy was bossing around Christy and Angie, as I approached them on the pitch, she was stood under the tree.

"Oh, there you are... Sophie, you come stand next to me," Mandy ordered.

Like ordered, I stood next to Mandy, knowing what was coming. I couldn't help cringing at the thought of it. But, then, you know that moment where everything slows down, and you notice every detail? Mandy looked up at the branch above, and realised that it wasn't just Kirby up there. Jimmy was trying to stop Kirby from pouring the food on me.

"Mandy!" Ted yelled, as he ran towards Mandy.

Ted tried to push me under the bucket as it fell, but instead I tumbled back and landed on the grass. Mandy screamed, as her and Ted were soaked in the disgusting food. I just looked at them, unable to say anything.

* * *

**A/N**: Thanks for reading, and if you've reviewed, thanks for that too!

OC info:

The OC will be a nerd, and be paired off with one of the nerd boys. She won't be as crucial to the story as Sophie, just another friend for Sophie and Beatrice.

Story titles choices:

_The Battle of the Bullworth Kingdom._

_Grottos & Jocks_

_Once Upon A Time In Bullworth_


	26. What Have I Become?

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Bully, Rockstar does. I do own Sophie.

* * *

**Chapter 26**  
_What Have I Become?_

* * *

~ **Luis Luna** ~

Walking through the halls, pushing week kids out their way, the guys were in the best of moods. There was some dance or something. I'd heard about it from that kid in the pink shirt, that there was going to be a Valentine's Day dance or something. Ted stopped near a poster, and looked at it.

"Dude, bet I don't even have to ask Mandy. I got that chick wrapped around my little finger," Ted said, smugly.

"Totally dude," Damon agreed. Ted was completely unaware that Damon hated him.

"I'm thinking of asking Sophie," I admitted.

Ted, Damon and Juri looked at me like I was a complete freak.

"Are you... how they say... crazy?" Juri asked.

"What's wrong with her? I think she's pretty cool," I replied.

I didn't see the problem, I liked Sophie. I didn't care that Ted hated her, I could date who I want, and screw what Ted thought. The guys continued to try to talk me out of it, but I couldn't care less. By the end of the school day, I was going to ask Sophie to the dance.

* * *

~ **Sophie Green** ~

Gossip spread about the incident on the football pitch, spread by Christy of course. I was actually starting to enjoy it. Mandy even stopped calling me a cow. Ted seemed to avoid me more. Maybe the whole plan thing was over. I was also starting to enjoy being popular, because everyone just knew stuff about me. I even saw one of the little girls trying to style her hair like mine.

Early in the morning, two weeks before Valentine's Day, Mandy, Pinky and I were in the bathroom putting on a little make up. The noises of other girls waking up and talking carried on down the hallway.

"So, it's like Valentine's Day soon," Mandy told us, while lightly applying some navy looking eye shadow.

"You just know Ted is going to ask you out," I told Mandy, before I swept some lip gloss across my lips. A week ago, I wouldn't have said anything like that, but I actually enjoyed girl talk. I didn't get that with Beatrice.

"I've been thinking about flirting with Bryce, he's so hot," Pinky said, while patting some blusher on her cheeks.

"Isn't Bryce the one who's dad is like totally gambling away their money?" Mandy replied, like this was completely juicy gossip.

"Yeah, that's him. He's actually a great kisser," Pinky replied.

We discussed this more, as we left the bathroom. I completely ignored Beatrice on the way out. I would have spoken to her, but Mandy and Pinky would have started teasing her, so really I was doing it for her own good. In the main building foyer, Ms Philips was stapling cupid pictures to the notice board, she had all of the art club putting up banners and decorations that were Valentine's Day related. I loved the heart with the frills, that Petey was sticking to the Beam Cola vending machine with blu tac.

"A very lovely morning, isn't it girls?" Ms Philips said, as she saw us looking at one of the paper chains wrapped around the banister.

"Is there, like, going to be a dance or something?" Mandy asked, curiously.

"Of course! On the day of true love, it would be a crime not to have one," Ms Philips replied.

A ripple of excitement spread across the school. Everyone was talking about it. Even boys would pretend not to be talking about it when girls approached, but as soon as they were gone, talk about who they might ask. Girls gossiped about who would ask them, and who they hoped wouldn't ask them. In chemistry, Dr Watts was tripping on chemical fumes, so we had plenty of time to talk. I was sat next to Melvin, because I had chosen him as my lab partner, when I was a Nerd.

"So, who would you accept as your date, Sophie?" Christy asked. She was sat at the desk behind me with Angie.

"I haven't really thought about it," I replied. I was being completely honest. I hadn't thought about who my date would be.

Once Christy and Angie left to go to the bathroom, I was left alone with Melvin. He seemed more quieter than normal, he was more tense to. I smiled, and looked at him. More than once, Melvin tried to say something to me, but choked on his own words. I wondered what was wrong with him, he didn't have any problems speaking to me before.

"Um... Sophie..." Melvin said, just before the bell rang.

"Yes?" I asked, as I turned to look him in the eyes.

His cheeks flushed pink. "It doesn't matter..." Melvin turned away from me, and grabbed his books.

I frowned at him, then picked up my own books. Melvin was acting very strange, but I couldn't figure out why. I'm sure he will tell me in his own time. Out in the hallway, Luis was waiting for me. For a few seconds, I thought he was going to drag me back to the gym for another one of Ted's plans or something. But he didn't.

"Sophie!" Melvin said, as he followed me out of the class.

He would have told me what he was trying to say, but Luis shoved him. "Move along, Nerd!" Luis snapped. "Hey, Sophie, could I have a word?" Luis asked, in a much kinder tone that he'd used on Melvin.

"Sure," I said, just as my voice gave in.

I glanced back at Melvin, he had a look on his face that reminded me of that film we saw on our friend date. There was that guy that loved the main girl, but when someone else asked her out, he had a heart broken expression. But, that couldn't be right. Melvin didn't like me that way, we were just friends. I walked with Luis to the caf, just before we walked down the steps, Luis turned to me.

"I was wondering, if you didn't have a date or something, will you go with me?" Luis asked, while running his fingers through his hair.

What he asked caught me off guard, because I wasn't expecting to be asked out. At all. Ever. "Um..." I seemed to lack the ability to speak, so I just nodded my head.

"Oh, cool," Luis replied, less awkward now. "So, meet you at the carnival later, to hang out?"

I nodded my head again. Luis walked down the steps to the caf. I just stood there, rooted to the ground. What had just happened? Did I have a date for both later and the dance? I didn't have a chance to ponder the thought, because Beatrice walked over to me looking less than happy.

"I'm going to the bathroom, could you come with me?" Beatrice asked. Her tone wasn't the usual nice one.

"Sure! I have something to tell you," I replied.

"I already know," Beatrice snapped.

I walked with Beatrice to the ground floor bathroom, once we were inside, Beatrice checked to make sure no one was in the stalls. Her behaviour was starting be a little unnerving. I couldn't help wondering if she was mad at me or something.

"What is going on?" I asked, as Beatrice turned to me.

"What is going on with you? You haven't spoken to me or any of the guys in days, now you're going on a date with Luis?" Beatrice replied. As her glasses started to slip down her nose, she pushed them back into place.

"But, I have to act like a cheerleader for the plan, remember?" I replied.

"You're not pretending anymore. You're just like them," Beatrice informed me.

"What do you mean?" My heart sank, because I started to realise she was right.

"There hasn't been a plan since you told us what happened with Gary," Beatrice said. She had whispered Gary's name. "I was fine with all this, until now. Melvin cares about you, and you just ignore him, because someone more popular came along."

"What are you talking about? Melvin doesn't like me," I said, confused.

"Yes he does. We can all see it. He's been so much happier since you joined our clique. We've watched him fall in love with you for the last month, you're the only one that doesn't see it," Beatrice informed me.

Beatrice didn't give me a chance to say anything. She stormed out of the bathroom, leaving me there alone. I looked at myself in the mirror. Beatrice was right, I had changed too much. I'd ignored my friends, so much so, that I didn't see what was right in front of me. Then, I started to realise just how obvious Melvin's crush was. Like when he made those character sheets for me, even though he didn't have to get a gift for me when when we did that Secret Santa thing. How he was always there for me when I needed him. How he was prepared to protect me, when everyone started yelling at me, when I told them about Gary. Even this morning, when he tried to talk to me, but couldn't find the words.

* * *

**A/N**: Thanks for reading, and if you've reviewed, thanks for that too!

I finally came to a decision, I will be keeping the story name as it is for now. I don't really need that OC I mentioned, it would just be wedging the OC into the story, just to pair Algie off with someone. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Also, finally Sophie knows about Melvin's obvious crush on her! I could only stall that for so long.


	27. The Cheerleader Tornado

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Bully, Rockstar does. I do own Sophie.

* * *

**Chapter 27**  
_The Cheerleader Tornado_

* * *

I would have gone after Beatrice, to apologise for everything, but on my way out, Mandy walked in and turned me around, leading me towards the sinks. Pinky, Angie and Christy followed her in. Pinky was holding an Aquaberry sweater much thinner material than the sweater I was wearing. Christy had a make up kit with her, while Angie had a hair brush, a couple of ribbons and hair clips.

"I just heard about you and Luis," Mandy informed me. "We totally have to make you look good for him."

"Um... why? What about lunch?" I asked, feeling like I was caught in a tornado.

Angie had already began brushing my hair, and pulling it into different hairstyles, while Christy tried to find make up to match my pale skin tone. I was no longer wearing a sweater over my uniform, because Pinky had pulled it off me, before Angie and Christy began their preening.

"Because, if you look ugly, you make us all look bad," Mandy said, with a 'well duh!' tone. "As for lunch... you know we don't eat lunch." Mandy then laughed like it was a really good joke.

"What about class?" I asked, knowing that truancy was against the school rules.

"You have English next, right? Galloway won't even notice you're gone," Mandy told me.

I didn't want to admit it, but she was right. When the cheerleader tornado released me, my hair was tied up in a ballerina style bun, with a white rose hair clip. With the make up, if I didn't know I was looking in a mirror, I wouldn't have guessed it was me I was looking at. I was wearing a thin Aquaberry blue button up sweater, that wasn't practical in winter at all. I had to admit, I looked very pretty.

"Why am I wearing this sweater? Why can't I wear my other one?" I asked, while looking at the sweater.

"Because, if you get cold, it'll give him an excuse to give you his letterman jacket," Mandy replied, while rolling her eyes. "You are like totally clueless!"

"Oh, and like, I know you only dated Sir Dork-a-lot, and everything," Christy told me, while Pinky handed me my sweater. "Remember, that Luis doesn't want to hear about Castles & Orcs or whatever it's called."

I walked out of the bathroom, actually feeling like one of them. Before, I always felt like the ugly one, because I didn't have a clue about make up or fashion. But now, I felt like I was just as pretty as them. Everyone looked at us as we past, and I even heard a few guys comment on how pretty we were - well, I'm not repeating what they actually said. We parted ways at my locker, so I could put away my sweater. Melvin was passing, carrying some of his books. Class must be starting soon or something.

"Melvin," I said, calling out to him.

I knew that I couldn't just ignore him after what Beatrice had told me. Melvin was my first friend in this place, and was always there for me. I wouldn't ignore him anyway.

Melvin turned around and looked at me. "I know you most likely don't want to be seen with me, the barbarians that run this kingdom may unleash their wrath on you." I knew he was upset, because his RPG speak leaked into his vocabulary.

"Melvin," I said, looking at my feet. I couldn't look him in the eyes, because of my guilt. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen."

"Well, you have a knight, why would you be interested in a lowly peasant like me?" Melvin said, his voice was hollow and emotionless. I looked him in the eyes, they were puffy like had been crying.

"You're not a peasant!" I informed him. "I wanted to go with you, because you are my closest friend. The only reason I accepted Luis's invitation, was because he caught me off guard."

"Friend," Melvin repeated. "That's all I am to you?"

"Yes," I said, nodding my head.

"But, you're not the Sophie I want to be friends with anymore," Melvin informed me. His words pierced my heart, like an arrow through my heart. "The Sophie I liked didn't care about fashion, or wear make up. She would talk about princesses and castles. She wouldn't look at any of those shallow wenches, let alone dress like them." Melvin looked me in the eyes for a moment, then he turned away. "See you around. Next time you see me, if you could avoid slamming me into a locker, I would much appreciate it." He walked a few steps, before I called out to him.

"Melvin O'Connor! You look at me right now!" I shouted at him.

Not only did Melvin look at me, a few other kids did to. I even heard one of them say, "Woah, dude, did that chick just speak?"

I wouldn't have shouted like that, but I was very angry. "You know very well that I wouldn't do anything like that to you! I would very much like to have everything go back to how it was. I would love to play G&G, and actually eat at lunch, instead of spending an hour caught in a cheerleader tornado of make up and hair accessories! But, you know I don't have a choice!" The anger erupted out of me like a volcano.

"But, that's just it. You did have a choice. The first time they dragged you into their lair, you could have told them no!" Melvin shouted back.

I would have argued more, but Algie and Thad came out of nowhere, and dragged Melvin down the corridor and out of sight. As you can imagine, rumors spread across the school about my argument with Melvin. Most of them created by Christy of course. All my friends now hated me - Donald glared at me, when I waved at him in the foyer, then wrote something on his list. I knew he was adding my name. Earnest pushed past me on the way to English, making me drop my books. All of them hated me. All the way through English, Beatrice gave me the cold shoulder. She wouldn't even speak to me, when Mr Galloway told us to write a poem together. Beatrice just scribbled a poem about traitors and backstabbers, then almost threw it at me. I was happy when the bell rang, and I saw Luis waiting for me outside the classroom. Even though I had no feelings for him, it was good to look at the face of someone that didn't hate me.

"Ready for our date?" Luis asked, when he noticed me. He high-fived the boy he was talking to, I think his name was Casey.

I nodded my head. We walked in silence, as we walked to the school gates. I started to see everyone in a different light. Their glares were like ice. It might have been the cold weather. In that moment, I realised that everyone didn't adore me for being a cheerleader. Girls hated me, because I wore the uniform they couldn't. Boys hated me, because they believed that I deemed myself too good to date them. That wasn't true.

Once we were outside the school campus, Luis turned to me. "You don't want to go on this date do you?"

I just looked him in the eyes. There was so many things I wanted to say, but the words wouldn't come. Now I understood why popular girls hated themselves. With so many people hating them, who wouldn't hate themself? I just shook my head. "I'm sorry... you caught me off guard," I explained, before my voice gave in.

Luis surprised me, by smiling. "That's why I asked you. Because, you're different from the chicks I usually date. You're deep. There's more to you than a pretty face."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "But..." I couldn't say anything else.

"We don't have to go on this date, if you don't want to," Luis said.

"I want to..." I admitted.

I actually did want to go. If Luis was telling the truth, then I would be more than happy to go on a date with him. Ideally, I would date someone like Melvin, that I had a lot in common with. But, Luis saw through the cheerleader mask I had to wear.

* * *

**A/N**: Thanks for reading, and if you've reviewed, thanks for that too!

The reason I updated so quickly, is because while I was writing chapter 26, it end up really really long, so I had to split it into three chapters. There's one more to come.


	28. Followed By A Manifestation of My Guilt

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Bully, Rockstar does. I do own Sophie.

* * *

**Chapter 28  
**_Followed By A Manifestation of My Guilt_

* * *

~ **Sophie Green** ~

As we walked to the carnival, I couldn't help casting a glance at the boardwalk. Melvin and I had shared our first kiss there. He was such a sweet guy, yet I couldn't see him as more than a friend. I could imagine myself getting married, even having children, yet I couldn't imagine Melvin as my husband, or even my boyfriend. I glanced at Luis. For a moment, I could imagine him as my boyfriend. In that moment, I saw Melvin walking beside him. I closed my eyes, thinking this was just a trick of my mind. When I opened them, Melvin was gone. I exhaled, because I couldn't face up to what I had done.

"You alright?" Luis asked, as we approached the tunnel that lead to the carnival.

"Yes, I'm fine," I said, nodding my head.

"Are you upset about that argument?" Luis asked.

"Yes, I am. How did you...?" I enquired, glancing over at him.

"Well, you've been at this school, what a month? Maybe two? And, almost no one outside the Nerds knows what your voice sounds like, then all of a sudden you start shouting in the hallway. Something like that would spread fast."

Luis had a point. I was known for my shyness, or lack of ability to speak in front of people I barely knew. I even had difficulty answering questions I was asked in class by the teacher. There was a line of other students, all hoping to get into the carnival. Some of them appeared to be on dates. That's when I saw Melvin again, stood right next to Luis.

"What are you even doing with a guy like him?" Melvin asked. "He didn't even give you a second glance, before you became one of them."

"Go away!" I hissed at him.

"What was that?" Luis asked. He clearly couldn't see Melvin, because he was a currently a figment of my imagination.

"Beam Cola!" I lied. I knew I could only lie with two words, since that's what I said to the manifestation of guilt in Melvin's form. "Could I get one, when we get into the carnival?"

"Sure, whatever you want. I could actually use one myself. Biology was so boring. But, I'm sure I'll pass. At least I do all my own homework," Luis said. His voice started to trail out, as I started to focus on Melvin.

"You know that you're only going on a date with him, because you're too nice to tell him you don't like him that way," Melvin told me. I tried to ignore him, but it's difficult to do that, when he was part of my own imagination. "Our date was much better than this."

Finally, we were at the front of the line. Luis paid for our tickets, and we entered the carnival. He got me a soda from the vending machine. I politely drank it, even though I wasn't thirsty. The soda tasted bitter, because all I could think of was what I had done, and how I was leading Luis on.

"How about some carnival games?" Luis suggested.

I nodded my head, hoping he wouldn't choose Strike Out. That reminded me too much of the date with Damon. Then I saw the dunk tank, as we walked further into the carnival. I thought that game was barbaric. Drowning a man, just because he was much smaller than everyone else.

"I'm thinking Shooting Range. I've started to get kinda good at that," Luis told me.

It took Luis a few attempts to win some tickets, because the gun kept locking up after a couple of shots. I had to wait there, while Luis went to go collect my prize. It was nice of him to do that, but I assured him that he didn't have to. But, I wasn't familiar with the whole dating thing. It seemed that boys won prizes for girls when on dates at the carnival. I saw Melvin stood there in front of me.

"Can't you leave me alone?" I asked. I got a few strange looks from passersby, because to them, I would appear to be talking to myself.

"You imagined me. I'm a manifestation of your guilt," Melvin replied.

"Then, I can imagine you away, if that's the case," I said. I closed my eyes, imagined him away, then opened them. Unfortunately, he was still there. "Why are you following me?"

"I don't know. Maybe there's something you wanted to say to me, but couldn't do it. But, I'm just guessing, since you're my puppet master it seems." Melvin looked me in the eyes, and then I knew what I wanted to say.

Luis came back with the teddy bear. "I know the ribbon's green, but that's all they had," Luis said, as he handed it to me.

I smiled. It was just the sign I needed. Green was my colour, my surname, and the colour worn by my clique.

* * *

~ **Melvin O'Connor** ~

As I sat looking out the window in my dorm, I couldn't help feeling guilty about how things ended with Sophie. But my anger bested me. That Jock barbarian had stolen away her heart, and I lacked the ability to fight for her. If she did not return my love, then I shall back off, and allow her to be with the one she cared for.

"Melvin, are you playing or not?" Bucky asked.

I glanced down at the table we had set in the middle of our dorm room, for games of G&G. Bucky, Cornelius and I fell lucky, that we shared a dorm. I looked at the cards in my hand, then placed Griffin of Wrath next to my other creature cards. I turned the mana cards required on angle, to show I'd used them for that turn.

"I'm out," Cornelius said, as his last creature was defeated. He had 4 hits left, and my Griffin of Wrath had taken them all. Cornelius looked at me for a few seconds. "Melvin, if I know Sophie like I think I do, I know that she won't stay one of them."

His words didn't reassure me. Sophie had changed so drastically since this whole plan. I barely recognised her anymore. "How can you be so sure? Did you not see her earlier?"

"I did," Cornelius replied. "Temptation's Image."

The last part many not make much sense to you, but to me, it made me realise that I had made a huge mistake. I had judged Sophie so poorly, because of my own anger at her choosing another over me. I would have continued on this line of self hatred, had I not heard two boys talking talking outside my dorm. I crossed the room, and pressed my ear against the wooden door.

"Tomorrow's the day. That chick won't know what hit her," one of them said. I couldn't place their voice, until the other spoke.

"Yeah, that'll teach her to mess with us," their voice was much deeper than the other.

"And, all we had to do, was wait for her little Nerd friends to ditch her," the first boy replied.

I opened the door a crack, and peeked out. I saw Ted and Damon walking down the corridor together. My heart sank. I couldn't allow those barbarians to hurt her. I had to tell Earnest.

* * *

**A/N**: Thanks for reading, and if you've reviewed, thanks for that too!

Ok, so yes, Melvin in Sophie's part of this chapter is imaginary. At first, it wasn't going to be Melvin's POV in the second half, but then I thought that he should have a POV bit in this story, since he is the only actual Bully character that's been in the most chapters, or mentioned. So, yay, Melvin POV!


	29. Still On My Mind

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Bully, Rockstar does. I do own Sophie.

* * *

**Chapter 29  
**_Still On My Mind_

* * *

~ **Sophie Green** ~

Luis was the perfect date. He didn't try to do anything strange on the Ferris wheel, and when I felt cold, he did give me his Letterman jacket to wear. Before now, I didn't know that there was a British style fish and chips shop along the board walk. They had just run out of chips when we ordered, so we had to wait until they had cooked some more. Luis and I sat at a table near the window. We had plenty of time to talk about where we grew up.

"I lived in Manhattan all my life," I said, thinking of my former home. "You?"

"I grew up in New Coventry," Luis replied.

I was actually quite surprised, because I had heard that everyone that came from New Coventry became a Greaser at school. Then I realised that was stereotyping. That wasn't a habit I should get into. Once our fish and chips were cooked, Luis paid, and we took a walk along the boardwalk, we talked about everything, like what brought me to Bullworth.

"My brother Michael held his teacher and some kids hostage in a classroom," I said, while telling what influenced my parents to send me here.

"Michael Green was your brother? Woah, that dude is awesome, I followed that story in the papers," Luis said, quiet amazed.

I nodded my head. "My parents sent me here, so I don't go down the same path," I concluded.

We sat down on a bench, and watched the sunset. I turned to Luis, smiling, but it wasn't Luis I saw, it was Melvin. For a second, I thought that it really was Melvin. I blinked, before looking back up at Luis again. My vision of Melvin was gone.

* * *

You know that feeling you get, before something really bad is going to happen, and it influences your dreams? After the event happens, you feel like you're psychic, because you saw it coming? That happened to me.

_I was running through our meadow, Rosewood. But, the kingdom was different. It was no longer pure white. The stone used to build the city was now black with my betrayal. Before me in the stone courtyard, was Sir Melvino Dragon's Bane. But he didn't see me. He was knelt on bended knee, kissing the hand of a fair haired maiden. His whole future was clear to me now. He would save a maiden from the Jock Orcs of Gym, they would live happily ever after._

_I saw a demon, his face resembled Gary's, he held a sword, with the intent of killing Melvino. I ran towards him, my sword raised. A bright light shone on me, I couldn't see anything, but I could hear a crowd laughing at me._

I woke up shaking, covered in sweat. For one horrible moment, I thought it was real. I thought the sound of the wind brushing against the window was Gary trying to break in. "I'm not afraid of him," I whispered to myself. Grabbing my flash light, as I climbed out of bed, switching it on so I didn't disturb Lola. It reminded me of the morning I first spoke to Beatrice properly. How she joked about me carrying a flashlight to the bathroom. She most likely wouldn't do that now.

The corridor was quiet, no one was awake yet, aside from me. That was always the problem, with getting up so early. But, in a way, I preferred it. When I was alone, I didn't have to play the cheerleader act, I could just be myself. In the bathroom, Beatrice was just getting in the shower, her towel was still wrapped around her. She didn't say anything to me.

"Beatrice, if you don't want to speak to me, I understand," I said. I knew that I'd been a royal bitch to her, even worse than Mandy. "I'm sorry for everything. There's no excuse for my behavior. I do want us to be friends, because you're the best friend I've always wanted." My grip tightened on the flashlight in my hands. "I'm going to tell Mandy that I'm quitting the squad, and I don't care what happens to me. After the way I treated you and Melvin, and everyone, I deserve it."

I turned away from her, like I expected, she didn't reply. After I had showered, and got ready, I left the bathroom just as Mandy and Pinky were coming in. They tried being all false to me, but I just ignored them. Lola was just waking up, when I returned to our dorm.

"Morning," I said, politely.

Lola looked quite taken back. "Woah, I must be still dreaming. You haven't spoken to me, since the bimbo squad accepted you."

I smiled. Things really were looking up. I put on my cheerleader uniform for the last time, today at rehearsals, I was going to tell Mandy that I quit, just like I promised Beatrice. But, first I had my own back up plan. I was going to make sure I broke most of her silly little cheerleader rules, so she would have to kick me out, if my quitting wasn't acceptable.

* * *

~ **Beatrice Trudeau** ~

I was quite surprised that Sophie apologised to me, I had assumed she was very much like her new cheerleader friends; all looks, bad attitude. Once I had taken the time to process the thought, as I waited in line for breakfast in the cafeteria, I knew I had to tell the others about this. John was still working, as the lunch man, he was a very nice guy, and considerate of my dietary needs, unlike Edna.

"Morning John," I said, when it was my turn.

"Morning Beatrice!" John replied, with his usual enthusiasm. "Don't tell me... toast made with wheat-bread, low fat butter, and a banana milk shake," John said, as he served up the food. He gave me a small bag of chopped mixed fruit. "And, a bag of fruit, for the wait until class."

"Thank you," I said, as he placed the food and drinks on my tray.

I moved my tray to the cash register to pay, there was a prefect there today, because of some new program, to get students to help improve the school. Starting with prefects. I approved of the program, it would help turn this dreary school into a respectable academy.

Mandy called me a "Dorkling" as I passed the Jock table, but I paid her no attention. That only annoyed her more, but of course, I did not care about her opinion of anything. The boys were playing G&G, as I set my tray down on the table.

"You will never guess what happened this morning," I said, as I removed the lid from my milkshake.

"What?" Fatty asked, as he moved his figurine into the swamp on the game board.

"Sophie apologised to me," I said, to everyone's amusement. Everyone laughed, aside from Melvin. I knew he was falling for her, we all new that, and was very much heart broken due to her betrayal.

"As if we care," Donald said, bitterly. "She used us as a stepping stone to popularity."

"And then dumped us like a pile of troll dung," Earnest said, finishing Donald's sentence.

"Oi, what did I say about being rude to my girlfriend?" Bucky said, disapproving of both Earnest and Donald's comments. Bucky had often jumped at the chance of calling me his girlfriend, in a way, I liked it.

"Want to make something of it, Bastion the Bard?" Donald challenged.

"You're on, Mighty Donald the Vengeful!" Bucky agreed, as they both removed their D20s from their pockets.

"I'm serious. She even told me that she's quiting the cheerleader squad," I told them both.

"Really?" Melvin asked, looking up from the breakfast that he didn't have the appetite to eat.

"Yes!" Bucky cheered, as he rolled a 20, but Donald only got 3. Bucky waved his hands in the air triumphantly. "I win! Now apologise!"

"She's honestly going to quit?" Algie asked. "That's brave."

* * *

**A/N**: Thanks to both readers and reviewers. It's good to know that there are people out there that enjoy my stories, as much as I do writing them.

Do you ever one of those stories, that you planned on being short, but want to never stop writing it? This is turning out to be one of those stories for me. I decided, that this would be the chapter that ties up all loose ends, but it didn't turn out that way. I'm happy with the end result though.

Also, it's finally Beatrice's POV! :D I think I'm going to more of that, about Sophie's closest friends, maybe even her enemies, or people that just plain don't like her.


	30. Helping Comes So Naturally To Me

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Bully, Rockstar does. I do own Sophie.

* * *

**Chapter 30  
**_Helping Comes So Naturally To Me_

* * *

As I brushed my hair, I remembered something that Pinky had said, that day they explained the rules to me. _"You can't wear anything that doesn't go with your cheerleader uniform." _Anything that doesn't go with my uniform... I had plenty of those kinds of things. I looked at the bear that Luis had given me, that was sat on my desk. There was a green ribbon tied around it's neck. That would clash very much, wouldn't? It would be a complete eye-sore, as Mandy called it.

I left my dorm, wearing the green ribbon like an Aliceband. It felt good rebelling against the one thing that cost me my friends. Mrs Peabody was down stairs, handing out mail.

"Sophie Green?" Mrs Peabody called.

"Here, Mrs Peabody," I replied, raising my hand.

"Here, one letter for you," Mrs Peabody said, while almost throwing the letter at me.

I sat on the stairs, as I opened it. It was a letter from Mum and Dad. The usual thing, telling that everything was fine at home, that they missed me, and 40$ in cash. At least I had some money to spend now. I noticed Eunice was near the vending machine, looking through her purse.

"Oh, no... I don't have any money..." Eunice said, her voice filled with disappointment.

I checked how many notes I had, I had a 20$, a 10$ and 10 singles. "I'll get you a drink," I said.

Eunice turned and looked at me, she looked quite surprised, even more so when her gaze landed on my uniform. I walked over to the vending machine, inserting a dollar bill into the machine, pressing the button for a Beam Cola twice. As soon as I hear the clang of the cans landing in the slot near the bottom, I removed them both. I gave one to Eunice, she looked at it like is was a time bomb.

"Why did you...? You're a cheerleader," Eunice asked, a frown claiming her forehead.

"I'm not a cheerleader," I told her. "Even if I was, there's no hidden agenda."

"I'll pay you back, as soon as I get paid on Friday," Eunice told me, as she opened the can.

"You don't have to. Consider it a gift, to begin apologising for my unacceptable behaviour," I told her.

A few girls were gossiping about what had just happened, as I left the girls dorm. I had my letter and money in my jacket pocket. Just lately, since Angie caught a cold because of how thin the uniforms are, we're required to wear zip up navy jackets, with the Bullworth 'B' on it. As I walked down the steps, I couldn't help smiling. It was a beautiful day.

It would be incredibly self absorbed of me, to think that the sun was shining just for me, but it was a lovely coincidence. I never noticed it before, but love was of sorts in the air. Girls were gossiping about the upcoming dance, boys were plucking up the courage to ask them to be their date. Right next to the vending machine, outside the main school building, Jimmy was asking Zoe to be his date, of which she accepted. I was happy for them.

The foyer looked beautiful, Ms Philips must have been up all night decorating. There was crape paper banners, tissue paper wrapped around the pillars. There was pictures of Cupid, even of a beautiful woman, that I suspected may be Aphrodite. Angie was stood near the tray counter, sneezing into a tissue, when I walked into the caf.

"What's wrong?" I asked, as I approached Angie.

"Mandy thinks my sneezing is disgusting, so I'm not allowed to sit at our table," Angie said. She sneezed again.

"Do you need anything?" I asked. I'd assumed that she hadn't gone near the food counter, in case she sneezed near it. Angie was very considerate like that.

"I could use some orange juice," Angie said, as she reached into her pocket to get her purse. "I'll give you the money."

Angie gave me 50¢, to get her some orange juice. I would have anyway, even if she hadn't have given me the money for it. That was always selfish of Mandy, to punish people just because they were sick. It was Mandy's fault anyway, for telling us that we should stop wearing sweaters in the middle of February. I joined the line, holding my tray. My two figurines of Princess Sophianna and my D20 started to feel like a weight in my jacket pocket.

For a moment, I got a flush of doubt, whether I was doing the right thing. If I stayed a cheerleader, I could show everyone that not all cheerleaders are mean. Some are nice, like me and Angie. All doubt left my mind, when I glanced over at the Jock table, and Mandy, Christy and Pinky stood near their table, bullying one of the younger girls. The little blonde girls was in tears, clutching her sports magazine to her chest.

"Morning Sophie! Usual?" John asked, when it was my turn in line.

I nodded my head. "Could I have a bottle of orange juice too?"

"'Course you can," John said. He put the food and drink on the tray. I didn't need a drink myself, because I had that can of Beam Cola. "Have great apple and sandwich!"

I smiled, and slid my tray down the counter to the cash register. One of the prefects was working on the till today. I wondered why. That seemed like a recurring thing lately, that a different prefect was working on the till all day. I paid for my food. For some reason, my gaze lingered over to the Nerd table. Bucky was waving his arms in the air triumphantly. I missed D20 battles so much.

I walked right past the Jock table, not even looking at any of them. I had no intention of sitting with them, so I didn't want them to be mislead into thinking I did. Angie thanked me for her orange juice, I would have talked to her more, but she had to leave to go see the school nurse, she was sure she had a fever. As I approached the Nerd table - my table, I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I turned around, to see Mandy.

"Why are you trying to sit with those losers? You know the rules," Mandy said. Then, she noticed that I was wearing a green ribbon. Her revulsion was more than visible. "Ew! That is like totally an insult to the uniform! You want to sit with your little loser friends, then fine, but you're never ever sitting at our table ever again!"

I just stood there, acting all shy, resisting the urge to laugh as she stormed off. That wasn't the end of it, but I'd passed the first part. I was exiled from the Jock table, so it was a start.

I stood at near the Nerd table, they all looked at me. "Hey, mind if I join you?" I asked, with a smile.

To my surprise, Cornelius moved his diorama of the Bullworth dam, off the seat that I usually sat at. I sat down at the table, setting my tray down.

"Hey, Sophie, have you got a figurine of Princess Sophianna on you?" Thad asked, as he put two cards of mana into play, on the G&G board.

"Yeah, I have, why?" I asked, as I reached into my pocket.

"I lost my elf princess figurine," Fatty said, holding his hand out for the figurine.

"I have a elf princess version of her, I won it off Zack," I replied, as I placed the elf Princess Sophianna in his hand.

"Are you in for G&G night tonight?" Algie asked. "Zack's got a rare shiny card as the prize."

"I do have cheerleader practise tonight, so sure! I'll come. I've missed playing G&G to be honest," I admitted. "The cheerleaders are so dumb, they think it's called Orcs & Castles!"

We all laughed at that, because it was so very silly, that they couldn't remember that G&G was called Grottos & Gremlins. I was so happy to be back sitting with them again. It felt like all this bad stuff never happened. Though, Melvin did ignore me the whole time, but I understood why. I had upset him.

* * *

**A/N**: Thanks to those that have read my story. Big thanks for the review! I wasn't expecting it, because I do seem to take so long updating this.

Well, another update! This one I started writing, but I wasn't sure if I'd add it or not, but here it is anyway. I thought that Sophie should be accepted by her friends, because I don't like the idea of them hating her so much, because Sophie is my original OC. This little Nerd has been part of my life for nearly two years as of August. There's still a little problem with her and Melvin, because well, that heart break can't be swept under the rug so easily.

Hope you enjoy the chapter, and I'll hopefully update soon.


	31. Just What I Need

**Trigger Warning**: There are mentions of a verbally abusive relationship, in Mandy's half of this chapter. It is only mentioned in the first paragraph.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Bully, Rockstar does. I do own Sophie.

* * *

**Chapter 31  
**_Just What I Need_

* * *

~ **Sophie Green** ~

It was good talking to everyone again. We all had to leave for class. I talked with Beatrice and Cornelius on the way to art. Melvin just walked behind us, not talking to me. I wanted to apologise to him, but I knew he wouldn't accept it. Melvin had refused to sit next to me in art, instead, he squeezed onto a work bench with Beatrice and Cornelius. I sat beside Angie, because Christy refused to sit next to her, because of her cold.

"Good morning," Ms Philips said, her passion for art flowing through her voice. "Today, we shall devote our time to love. All you need is in the cupboard at the back. I want you to make a valentine for someone you truly care about. Let the love inspire you!"

Some grumbled at the thought - mostly boys, but everyone seemed excited by the idea. Everyone collected what they needed from the cupboard. I wasn't that great at art, so all I got was a heart shaped piece of red card, some lace ribbon, glue and a silver pen.

At first, I thought about giving it to Melvin, but I knew he'd just rip it up. Then I thought Luis, but then again, that would imply I feel more for him than I do. I glued the ribbon around the edge of the card, with a bow where it curved in at the top.

"That's really pretty, Sophie," Angie said, glancing over at my card. She'd folded hers in half, and added lots of glitter to the front, with smaller golden hearts. "Who are you going to give it to?"

"I'm not sure. I want to give it to someone, but they're probably not talking to me right now," I admitted.

"Well, you never know until you try," Angie said. "Give it a shot, it might just smooth things over with the both of you."

We didn't talk much after that, because my voice had given in. I concentrated on what message I was going to put in my card, while I waited for the glue to dry. I tapped the pen on the desk. There was so many things I could put. I could be poetic, or even witty, but I knew that wasn't me. Then a message sprang to mind.

_Sir Melvino Dragon's Bane,_

_Thy honor is just, and thy heart is pure.  
__My gift to you, good sir, my love so true._

_Princess Sophianna_  
_x_

Once I was done, I looked at it with approval. But, I couldn't give it to Melvin in person, I would have to put it in his locker, and hope he didn't rip it up. I approached Ms Philip's desk, holding my valentine. Most likely, more than one person thought I was going to give it to her. But, that didn't matter to me, because I knew who it was for.

"Ms Philips, may I have a hall pass?" I asked.

Ms Philips was surprised to hear me talk, as this was most likely the first time I'd spoken to her, in this class. Her lips curved up into a smile. "Going to deliver it anonymously?" Ms Philips whispered.

I nodded my head. With out saying another word, Ms Philips filled in the hall pass, and gave it to me. I slipped out of the class, on my way to Melvin's locker. I knew which one was his, and his combination. He had chosen the combination number, that he had agreed on to be the century Rosewood was set in. 1-1-0-0. Once the locker was opened, I placed it on top of his books, he would most likely come to get them and go to the library, instead of going to gym.

On my way back to class, a prefect named Max stopped me. "You! What are you doing out of class?"

"I-I..." The words started sticking in my throat. I just held out my hall pass.

Max took it, and looked at it, he gave it back to me. "Why didn't you say so? Now, move along."

I almost ran to class, because I didn't want to get stopped again. For those that finished their valentines, Ms Philips requested that we help her make paper chain out of pink card, for banners for the up coming school dance. I volunteered, because I wanted to help, plus, I'd left all my fantasy books back in my dorm.

* * *

~ **Mandy Wiles **~

So, like, I was in the girl's bathroom. I had to make myself sick, because Ted told me that my clothes were a little tight on me, and he was totally right. I didn't want to be a cow like that nerdling, that Ted's using for revenge against the nerds for what they did last year to the big game. And, because he totally hates her, and I don't blame him. I hate her too. So, yeah, I had to make sure I looked good for Ted, because he is totally dreamy and perfect.

That's when I heard someone come in, they were probably complete losers, that aren't worth my attention. I stood up and walked towards the door, just as I was about to unlock the door, and make them feel bad about being fat and ugly, I recognised their voices. I recognised Angie, she sounds all disgusting and grody because that cold. She doesn't even have the decency to stay in her dorm. The other voice... was that heifer Sophie. I froze to listen into their conversation.

"That's a shame about you and Luis, I thought you'd make a cute couple," Angie said. Judging by the clanging noise, she was rummaging through her make up bag.

"I like him, but not that way," Sophie the Heifer replied. "I haven't told him yet. I'm going to tell him after gym."

"Oh, that's good. Then, it won't break his focus for the wrestling match," Angie said. "Lip gloss? Why not?"

"I don't like make up," Sophie the Heifer replied. She is such a disgrace to the uniform. "Oh, yeah, I never did thank you for warning me about what Mandy was going to do to me."

"No problem," Angie replied.

So, it was Angie that blabbed was it? That was so juicy. I could, like, totally use that to my advantage. I could both make the grody Nerd quit, and get her in major trouble with teachers at the same time. Either way, I won't have to put up with her, just because of Ted's little revenge thing.

* * *

**A/N**: Thanks to both readers and reviewers of this story. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

For this story, I wanted to show that Mandy wasn't all bitch. To make her seem more human. Also, I thought that Sophie could only string Melvin along for so long, so now is a good time to start aiming it towards romance. She won't completely fall for him, it's most likely going in that direction.


	32. To Stay The Same

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Bully, Rockstar does. I do own Sophie.

* * *

**Chapter 32  
**_To Stay The Same_

* * *

I didn't get to talk to Luis after gym, because someone on the team had asked him to go through some homework with him. I was a bit disappointed by that, to be honest. Instead, I went to meet everyone at Dragon's Wing. When I arrived, Zack and everyone was stood outside.

"What happened?" I asked, looking at the window. It was completely smashed.

"Someone threw a brick through the window, and a whole pack of stink bombs," Thad said.

Zack was slumped on the bench, taking numerous puffs from his inhaler. He managed to nod in agreement to what Thad had said.

"Did you see who did it?" I asked.

Algie, Fatty and Bucky exchanged awkward glances. But, it was Melvin that spoke up. "Your boyfriend, and the rest of those muscle bound neanderthals," Melvin informed me.

"Luis isn't my boyfriend..." I said, but he cut me right across.

"Sophie, I don't want to hear it. Before you came along, everything was great. We were stepped on, and bullied, but we had our safe haven away from the school," Melvin said, gesturing at the shop. "But, then you come along and ruin it all." Melvin stormed off, before I could say anything in my defence.

"We don't blame you," Earnest said. "Melvin's just angry. He'll calm down."

"Yeah, we know this isn't your fault, Sophie," Beatrice reassured. "The Jocks did this once before."

Beatrice's reassurance didn't make me feel any better. I felt like it was my fault. If I had have just not gone to the gym that day, and never become a cheerleader, we would have been happy, just like we were on Christmas day. In that second, when the thoughts of Christmas rushed through my mind, something happened. I just started running after Melvin. I wouldn't have caught up with him before, but all the exercise I was getting lately really increased my stamina. Just as Melvin reached the abandoned cinema, I caught up with him.

"Melvin!" I shouted.

"Go away!" Melvin shouted back, beginning to jog.

I caught up with him, just as he reached the motel, and grabbed his arm. He shook his arm, to try to make me let go, but I wouldn't. My grip tightened.

"Melvin, listen to me! I'm sorry I hurt you, I really am. I'm not in love with Luis, or even want to date him," I told him. Melvin looked like he didn't want to listen, but I didn't care, I was going to tell him anyway. "All the way through our date, I was thinking of you. I imagined you there, and you were telling me over and over that it was wrong. I didn't want to listen to you then, because I didn't want to admit that my own self conscious was right."

Melvin froze and looked me in the eyes. "You were really thinking about me?" Melvin asked. I nodded my head. "All this time, I thought that you didn't care."

"I do care about you," I told him.

"Just, not enough to be more than friends?" Melvin adjusted his glasses.

"I don't know," I admitted. "I love you, Melvin, as a friend. I love how we used to role play, and how I can talk to you about anything. Everything in my life is changing so fast, I want one thing to stay the same." My grip loosened on his arm.

Melvin took my hand in his hand, moving his arm, so he could envelope my hand with both of his. "I've always kinda had a thing for you, Sophie. Because no one took RPGs as serious as me, I always said, that if I found a maiden that cared for it as much as me, I would offer her my heart. 'Tis, where my affections for you began, and have grown stronger since."

I didn't get a chance to respond, because Thad and Cornelius ran towards, both of them completely out of breath. Earnest, Donald and Bucky caught up next, Earnest was leaning on Bucky's shoulder because he was almost collapsing. Beatrice was next. Followed by Fatty and Algie, both of them looked like they might die of exhaustion. Melvin and I couldn't help laughing at the sight of them all. How they'd worried about us enough, to come running after us.

"Oh, you're laughing..." Fatty said, quite taken back.

"We came, to see if you'd made up," Beatrice said, as she grabbed hold of Thad for support.

"Or pull you apart, if you were fighting," Algie said, ruining the moment.

Melvin let go of my hand. "All is well, in the kingdom," Melvin told them.

Melvin was right; all was well in the kingdom. Instead of playing G&G in Dragon's Wing, Cornelius suggested we play in the observatory instead. I would have joined them, but I was too tired, and I had to take off this stupid cheerleader uniform. Beatrice remembered that she had homework to do, so she walked with me.

It felt good knowing that I had all my friends, the people I cared about. As Beatrice and I walked into the dorms we knew something was wrong. Only Christy was in the common room, which was strange, because usually everyone was either studying or pursuing their hobbies.

"Oh, there you two are," Christy said, with a slight snippy edge. "Mandy wants to see everyone in the gym."

"Well, I have homework," Beatrice protested, but Christy grabbed her arm, and steered her towards the door.

"Mandy wants to see everyone in the gym," Christy repeated.

I jogged after them, to make Christy let go of Beatrice and to see what was so important. Christy did let go, as soon as we walked out of the door. Along the way to the gym, I noticed there was no one around, other than prefects, and one or two teachers. Maybe when Christy said everyone, she did literally mean _everyone_, then. Beatrice and I looked at each other, she had an uneasy anxious look on her face.

In the gym, everyone from each clique was gathered, even students that I was sure wasn't in a clique, sitting on the bleachers. Beatrice and I join the guys near the bottom of the bleachers.

"What's going on?" Beatrice asked, as she sat down beside Donald.

"I don't know. There was a note taped to the door of the observatory," Donald replied. "Was there a note waiting for you?"

"No, just Christy," I said.

* * *

**A/N**: Wow, I am surprised the last chapter got a review so quickly. Thank you to those who have read it, and reviewed too.

I know this chapter got added pretty quick, but I just had thoughts of Sophie and Melvin having this conversation, so I had to type it up. Enjoy!


	33. United We Stand

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Bully, Rockstar does. I do own Sophie.

* * *

**Chapter 33  
**_United We Stand_

* * *

Mandy stood before us, holding the wireless microphone, that was often used for commentators during dodgeball matches, wrestling, basket ball, sometimes for the swim team races. Ted was stood beside her. "You're probably all wondering why I called you all here," Mandy said, into the microphone. A smile spread across her lipgloss coated lips. "There has been a betrayal to the cheerleader squad, and that betrayer needs to be punished."

My heart sank. Was this it? There was numerous people talking to each other, I could pick out things like "Betrayal?", "What kind of betrayal?", "Who cares!" Even things like, "We were dragged here for this?"

"That person that betrayed one of our most important unwritten rules, is..." Mandy paused, like a host from some talent show. It worked though, everyone looked like they really wanted to know. I closed my eyes, because I just knew she was going to say my name. It would be just like my dream... "Angie!"

A few people gasped, and looked at her. Even she was gobsmacked. I looked from Angie, to Mandy, back to Angie again. I couldn't let this happen. All Angie had done, was warn me about a cruel prank Ted and Mandy were planning.

"No!" I said, jumping up from my seat.

I grabbed the microphone from Mandy. I was about to argue that Angie hadn't done anything, when I looked up at the bleachers. All eyes were on me. Right at the top of the bleachers, with one arm leaning on the rail, the other behind his back, was Gary Smith. His eyes still ablaze with malice. I could tell, that a smirk was slowly claiming his lips.

"I-I..." I managed to say, before my voice gave in. There was the sound of laughter in the air. "It wasn't Angie..." My heart began to beat faster, I could feel it in my throat.

"Then who was it?" Mandy demanded, she looked seriously blazing angry.

"It was me," Melvin said, standing up. I stared at him, why was he doing this.

But, then something strange happened. There seemed to be a chorus of "It was me." All of my friends; Beatrice, Fatty, Cornelius, Thad, Bucky, Donald, Algie, Earnest, were standing.

"Who cares about a bunch of smelly grody nerds anyway?" Mandy said, rolling her eyes.

"It was me," said someone with a deep voice. Eunice stood up. "I heard you talking about it in the locker room, and told Sophie everything." I was actually gobsmacked, that Eunice would lie like that. It wasn't true, it was Angie that told me, but she was doing it for all the right reasons, not to betray anyone.

"Don't you lie" rang through the gym. All eyes turned towards the top of the bleachers, as Gary started walking down the steps, talking into a microphone. "You know you did it, Sophie. Letting these pitiful little morons stand up for you." Gary shook his head, with disapproval. "During that placement in the asylum, you sought me out. Begged me to make you popular, so you could take over the school. You wanted to dethrone Mandy, so you could claim it all for yourself; the adoration, the status, even Ted."

"No! That isn't true..." I protested. I looked at both Ted and Mandy, I could see that they were both judging and hating me. I lowered the microphone. "I swear, I never wanted this. I did want friends, but I was happy before all this mess happened. Ted, I'm sorry I hit you with the dodgeball, if I could go back and undo it, I would..."

"All you need is tears, to make that stupid little lie work," Gary said. He stepped down off the bleachers, and walked towards me. "We had it all planned." Gary turned to face everyone on the bleachers. "We planned, day after day, how Sophie could trick everyone into thinking she was a poor little helpless Nerd, that couldn't do anything right. In exchange, she would help me escape, but make it look like it was all her fault."

"Sophie doesn't lie," Ted said, causing me to stare at him. He took the microphone from me, so everyone could hear. "I don't like Sophie, and she seemed to come out of nowhere. But, what I hear about this chick, is that she's honest."

All of my friends sat down, except for Earnest. "This wouldn't be the first time you've lied to us all, Gary. I'd believe Sophie's word over yours any day."

Johnny Vincent stood up. "Yeah, that broad ain't done nothing to bring attention on herself. Heck, if ain't have seen her in Lola's room, before she became a pompom princess, I wouldn't have even known she was here."

Next was Jimmy. "Gary, you do know that microphone is connected to the PA system right?"

Gary looked down at the microphone in his hands. For almost a second, I saw a look of panic on his face. He dropped the microphone, trying to make a break for it, through the door, but my fellow Nerds, blocked off the door way. He turned around, to run towards the stairs that lead to the changing rooms, but the Preps and the Greasers had blocked that off. He was trapped.

Everyone had angry words to shout at him, for the mayhem he'd caused last year. Everyone besides the Ted, Mandy, Melvin, myself and Earnest crowded around him, so he couldn't escape. Earnest and Melvin stood beside me, as Ted and Mandy approached us.

"Sorry for dragging you further into this, Sophie," Ted said, sincerely. I nodded my head at him, silently accepting his apology.

"Don't think I like you or anything, because I think you're a disgusting Nerd. If you want to quit the squad, then fine," Mandy said. Her features formed into a look of revulsion. "Just, like totally wash the uniforms we gave you, before you give them back."

Ted looked at Earnest. "Dude, this doesn't change anything. After tomorrow, old rules apply," Ted said, shaking his hand.

"Good. I had a lot of schemes to get you no brained neanderthals," Earnest said, his mouth curving up at the edge. "I would hate to let them go to waste."

Melvin held my hand, to give it a gentle squeeze. I looked at him, smiling. And there it was, in that moment, when he smiled back at me, I felt a spark, that I'd never felt towards Melvin before.

Before we left the Gym, I took Luis to one side. I explained to him, that I did enjoy our date, but I didn't feel that way towards him. I requested that we remained friends, he agreed. But, he hasn't spoken to me since then, not even when we pass in the hallway.

Next, I spoke to Mandy. I did quit the squad. I never wanted to be a cheerleader, all I am is a fantasy loving Nerd girl, and that is fine by me anyday.

In case you're wondering what happened to Gary; the teachers came, with some orderlies to take him away. Numerous rumors spread across the school, of what happened to him. Some claiming that he had destroyed the asylum, and was on the run. Some where that he'd gone to another school, after his grandfather bribed the asylum to let him out.

Only me and my fellow Nerds know the truth. He's in Happy Volts, on a higher dosage of medication. I'd visited him once, just to show him there was no hard feelings. He was so doped up on meds, that he didn't even know I was there. Eventually, they will return his meds to their normal dosage, and one day, he'll return to Bullworth, but when he does, we'll all be ready for him.

But, for now, I'm just happy being a Nerd. Ted kept true to his word. The following morning, we woke up to find that the Jocks had TPed the observatory. Everyone was fine cleaning it up, while Melvin and I went off on our own. We had a lot to talk about.

I lay in our meadow, Rosewood, flat on my stomach, reading from my fantasy book - the one the Jocks had tried to throw up a tree, just three months ago. Melvin sat beside me, his back resting against the tree.

"Valentines Day ball is just one week away," Melvin said, as he looked across the meadow.

"Yes, it is," I agreed. I turned the page in my book.

"Since you don't have a date, I was wondering..." Melvin said, awkwardly scratching behind his ear.

"Melvin O'Connor, are you asking me to be your date?" I asked, with an almost teasing edge.

"That is, fair maiden, if thou would do me the great honor of accompanying me to the dance," Melvin asked, as his cheeks started to flush pink.

"I don't know. Since, we haven't really had an official date yet," I joked. I tapped my finger against my chin, like I was pretending to think about it. "I accept thy invitation, brave knight," I said, as I pulled a tissue out of my bag, that I'd rested against the tree. "I pray that you take this favor, as a token of my affection." I was half joking about the tissue.

Melvin took it all the same, folding it up, and putting it in his breast pocket. He patted it, like it was a real handkerchief. It was funny that, our friendship had both began and ended in Rosewood. Melvin was a sweet guy, and would most likely make the perfect boyfriend.

_With Melvin, I feel like I could live happily ever after..._

* * *

**A/N**: Ok, wow... I'm really excited about this. Because, to me, it really seems like the end of the story.

When I first wrote it, I knew all along, that it was going to be Sophie is happy to be a nerd, she gets manipulated by Gary, is forced to be a cheerleader, then the students of Bullworth stand united to capture Gary again.

But, I never imagined, that when I changed the plot in chapter 18, that it would come full circle to the plot I intended.

For now, I'm going to leave the status of it as 'In-progress' because; I want to know you think this is a good ending point. For me, this plot always had a undergoing plot, tied with Gary.

I do have in mind a possible sequel plot in mind, but I'm not sure if I should continue it in this story or make a whole new story thing for the sequel. I've always wanted to write a story, with a sequel, where the sequel actually ends up progressing rather than being ditched and deleted. Keep in mind though, it will be a long while before the sequel gets put up, because I'm working on completing all my unfinished stories.

I'll wait a few days, then if this is really the end, then I'll change it to complete.


End file.
